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http://www.archive.org/details/dissertationoninOOtown 


DISSERTATION 


ON  THE 


INFLUENCE  OF  THE  PASSIONS 


PRODUCTION  AND  MODIFICATION 


DLStf£&$£ 


BY  PETER  S.  TOWNSEND,  A.  B. 

Member  of  the  Literary  Institution  of  Columbia  College,  of  the  Medico-Cbteurgical 

Society  of  this  city,  and  Honorary  Member  of  the  Columbian 

Peitho-Logian  Society. 


Passiones  sunt  tanquam  rotae  in  curru  quibus  vebimur  hoc  mundo.     Bernard.  Ser.  35. 


NEW-YORK: 

PRINTED  FOR  THE  AUTHOR,  BY  VAN  WINKLE  AND  WILEY, 
No.  3  Wall- Street. 


1816. 


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THE    INFLJJENCE    OF  THE  PASSIONS 

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PRODUCTION  AND  MODIFICATION 


FICATION^  * 


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DISEASE.  *       v 

Ak  \  \V\  *    *       *  * 

SyBJVligrTE'D  TO/  THEfPJJBLIC.  EXAMINATION 


TRUSTEES  AND  PROFESSORS 

OF 

THE  COLLEGE    OF  PHYSICIANS   AND    SURGEONS  OF  THE 
UNIVERSITY  OF  NEW-YORK, 

SAMUEL  BARD,  M.  D.  &c.  PRESIDENT, 

FOR  THE 

Degree  of  Doctor  of  Medicine. 

Od  the  6th  day  of  May,  181  P. 


TO 

SAMUEL  LATHAM  MITCHILL.  M.  D. 

F.   R.   S.   EDINBURGH  ; 

Professor  of  Natural  Histcrry  in  the  University  of  the  State  of  New-  York ;  Fellow  of  the  Society 
of  Arts  at  Albany ;  Member  of  the  Academy  of  Arts  and  Sciences  at  Boston ;  Associate  of  the 
American  Philosophical  Society  at  Philadelphia  ;  Member  of  the  Wernerian  Natural  History, 
and  of  the  Philosophical  Society  of  Edinburgh,  and  Honorary  Member  of  the  Society  of  the 
Antiquarians  of  Scotland ;  Corresponding  Member  of  the  Academy  at  Marseilles,  of  the 
Medical  Society  in  London,  and  of  the  Institution  for  Arts  and  Sciences  at  Leghorn,  also,  of 
the  Society  for  promoting  Natural  and  Physical  Science  at  Paris,  and  of  the  Royal  Medical 
Academy  at  Madrid,  also,  of  the  Literary  and  Philosophical  Society  of  Preston,  and  of  the 
Agricultural  Society  of  Philadelphia;  late  a  Member  of  the  House  of  Assembly,  bf  the  Con- 
gressional House  of  Representatives,  and  of  the  Federal  Senate,  for  the  State  of  New-York  ; 
Fellow  of  the  Literary  and  Philosophical  Society  of  New- York,  and  erne  of  its  Corresponding 
Secretaries,  &c.  kc. 

A  GENTLEMAN 

NOT  LESS  PRE-EMINENT   FOR    HIS    INESTIMABLE   PRIVATE   VIRTUES,  ' 

THAJS   FOR   TEE 

VARTETY,  EXTENT,  AND  PROFUNDITY  OF  HIS  GENIUS, 

THIS  DISSERTATION 

IS    RESPECTFULLY    INSCRIBED, 


A   HUMBLE  TRIBUTE  OF  THE  ESTEEM  AND  ADMIRATION 


HIS  FRIEND, 

THE  AUTHOR. 


A 

DISSERTATION 

ON 

THE    PASSIONS 


PART  I. 


MAN  is  endowed  with  a  faculty  termed  Volition, 
by  which  he  is  rendered  a  free  agent,  and  made  ca- 
pable, as  a  moral  being,  of  choosing  for  himself  the 
path  which  he  shall  pursue  during  his  earthly  resi- 
dence. The  object  of  this  faculty  is  under  the  dic- 
tates of  the  judgment,  to  control  that  great  principle 
of  attraction  which  naturally  exists  between  the 
human  mind  and  good  and  evil. 

This  attraction,  or  love,  or  desire,*  as  it  may  be 
termed,  not  less  extensive  than  the  attraction  which 
governs  the  phenomena  of  the  inanimate  world,  is, 
as  I  have  just  hinted,  divided  into  two  great  spe- 
cies, viz.,  the  Love  of  Good,  and  the  Love  of  Evil. 
These  appear  under  the  various  forms  of  Love  of 
the  Creator,  &c,  on  the  one  hand,  and  the  Male- 
volent Affections,  &c,  on  the  other;  as  in  the  fol- 
lowing table: 

*  I  make  Love  and  Desire  here  synonymous  with  Attraction. 


10 
TABLE  I. 

♦  DESIRE,  LOVE,  OR  ATTRACTION. 
CLASS   I. 

Love  of  Good, 

This  class  may  be  subdivided  into  the  following 
Sections : 


LOVE  OF 


1.  CREATOR. 

1.  Faith. 

2.  Zeal. 

3.  Piety. 

4.  Devotedness. 

5.  Adoration. 

6.  Enthusiasm. 


2.  COUNTRY. 

1.  Obedience. 

2.  Patriotism. 

3.  Zeal. 

4.  Devotedness. 

5.  Enthusiasm. 


3.    HUMAN  SPECIES,  OR  SYMPATHY. 


a.  Philanthropy,  b.  Natural  Affection,  c.  Sexual  Love. 

1.  Regard.         ^f  0I  S  Indulgence.      1.  Fondness. 

2.  Esteem.         °JTf  (Infatuation.      2.  Love. 

3.  Reverence.      Ms     i  Dutifulness.     3.  Enthusiasm, 

4.  Admiration.     |"|    <  Respect.  4.  Infatuation. 

5.  Devotion.        Is     (Reverence. 

6.  Enthusiasm.  _!,■!  (  Fondness. 

7.  The     Bene-°|  s|  \  Affection, 
volent    Affec- 
tions,  strictly 

so  called. 

8.  The  Attri- 
butes of  Good 
Breeding. 


II 


4.    SELF. 

5.   NOVELTY. 

Pride. 
Vanity. 
The  Virtues. 

1.  Inquisitiveness. 

2.  Curiosity. 

3.  Enthusiasm. 

6.    FAME. 

7.    SUBLIMITY.                  8.    BEAUTY. 

.  Ambition. 

1.  Admiration. 

2,  Enthusiasm. 

CLASS  II. 
Love  of  Evil. 

This  class  may  be  subdivided  into   the  following 
Sections : 

1.    MALEVOLENT  AFFECTIONS. 


a.  Those  founded  b.  Those  founded  c.  Those  founded 
on  Malice  pure-  on  Hypocrisy  and  on  Pride  and 
ly.  Malice.  Malice. 

A.  Attributes  of  III  Breeding. 


2.   VICES. 


Avarice,  &c. 


THE  PASSIONS  ARE, 

1.    JOY.  2.    ANGER.  3.    GRIEF.  4.    FEAR. 

The  existence  of  a  Repulsive  Principle  in  the  mind, 
which  has  been  asserted  by  some,  is  altogether  un- 
founded.    Where  repulsion  or  aversion  appears  to 


12 

exist,  it  is  only  the  effect  of  something  more  power- 
fully attractive  than  that  from  which  we  seem  to  be 
repelled.  Hence  it  is,  in  fact,  the  most  lucid  exhi- 
bition of  the  operation  of  Attraction.  Thus,  in  that 
state  of  mind  called  Rancour,  where  the  greatest 
possible  aversion  or  abhorrence  is  supposed  to  exist, 
its  force  is  commensurate  only  with  the  protraction 
of  revenge;  it  dies  instantly  when  our  eagerness 
to  injure  the  hated  object  is  glutted.  This  is  the 
Attraction  of  the  mind  to  Evil. 

The  Passions,  according  to  their  general  accepta- 
tion, are  merely  the  intense  exertion  of  some  of 
these  modifications  of  attraction;  or  where  that  at- 
traction is  no  longer  obedient  to  the  direction  of 
Reason.  In  this  state  of  over-exertion  even  the 
principle  which  naturally  inclines  us  to  good,  often 
becomes  as  pernicious  as  that  which  makes  us  prone 
to  evil. 

A  Passion,  in  strict  language,  however,  means  a 
sudden  and  violent  commotion  of  the  mind,  accompanied 
and  distinguished  by  certain  preternatural  phenomena 
of  the  voice,  gesture,  or  expression  ;  and  "  opposed  to 
that  state  of  tranquillity  wherein  a  man  is  master  of 
himself" 

The  Passions,  in  this  sense,  are  certain  attributes 
of  the  mind,  which,  though  in  the  mouth  of  every 


13 

one,  and  almost  constantly  before  us,  are  but  little 
understood.     To  form  some  notion  of  them,  we  may 
suppose  them  to  have,  in  common,  two  states  of  ex- 
istence ;  first,  that  state  where  the  passion  causes  no 
commotion  in  the  mind,    barely  having    existence 
there;  or,  in   other  words,  where  it  is  only  latent: 
and,  secondly,  where,  clothed  in  dictatorial  robes,  it 
rushes  fearlessly  forth  in  defiance  and  contempt  of 
Reason,  and  imposes  itself  upon  our  observation  by 
the  most  unequivocal  phenomena.     This  is  the  state 
of  a  passion,  strictly  and  properly  so  called,  and 
which  receives  an  easy  solution  by  an  attention  to 
the   various    ramifications   of  that    great   principle 
of  Attraction  which  determines  the  aspect  and  tenor 
of  human  conduct.#     It  will  then  be  seen  that  the 
origin   of  those   four  great   primary  passions  of  the 
mind,  which  we  have  merely  marked  in  this  table,  is 
explicable  by  the  most  simple  deduction. 

Thus,  since  there  exists  in  the  mind  this  great 
attractive  principle,  it  is  rational  to  conclude  that 
its  action  may  either  be  accelerated  or  consum- 
mated, retarded  or  annihilated.  Those  causes 
which  tend  to  accelerate  or  consummate  it,  must 
be  in  conformity  or  unison  with  the  volition  which 
directs  that  action;  and  hence  a  source  of  satisfac- 
tion,  the    prelude    to  Joy.     Those  causes,  on   the 

*  See  Table  L 


14 

other  hand,  which  tend  to  frustrate  or  destroy  its  ac- 
tion, must,  at  the  same  time,  contravene  the  opera- 
tions of  the  will.  There  follows,  hence,  a  natural 
resistance  to  such  obstacles,  which  resistance  is  dis- 
played under  the  shape  of  Fear,  Grief,  or  Anger. 
To  be  a  little  more  specific;  whatever  conspires 
with  our  volition,  or  wishes,  may  excite  our  Joy ; 
whatever  opposes  them  may  excite  our  Anger,  our 
Fears,  or  our  Griefs. 

Our  Joy  fills  the  measure  of  our  happiness  when 
we  have  accomplished  or  obtained  that  which  we 
loved,  or  to  which  we  were  attached,  whether  it  be 
good  or  evil. 

Our  Grief  denotes  the  powerful  attraction  which 
existed  between  ourselves  and -something  which  we 
have  now  lost,  or  expect  to  lose. 

Our  Fear  discovers  the  strong  prepossession  we 
have  that  we  are  about  to  part  with  that  to  which 
we  are  vehemently  attached ; 

And  our  Anger  expresses  not  only  opposition  or 
obstruction  to  our  volition,  but  a  strong  determina- 
tion to  avenge  ourselves  upon  the  offending  ob- 
ject. 

Hence,  they  all  spring  ultimately  from  this  great 
principle  of  Attraction.* 

*  The  only  writer  who  seems  to  have  formed  an  opinion  of  the  Pas- 
sions, similar  to  the  doctrine  I  have  advanced,  is  the  ingenious  author 
of  an  anonymous  work,  printed  at  London,  in  the  year  1772,  in  2 


15 

All  the  passions  (says  Dr.  Reid)  imply  the  desire 
of  some  object.  If  he  had  meant  that  the  existence 
of  that  original  Desire,  or  Attraction,  of  which  I 
speak,  is  implied  in  every  Passion,  this  observation 

vols.,  8vo.,  and  entitled  the  "  Philosophy  of  the  Passions."  "  It  seems  to 
me,"  says  this  writer,  "  that  they  (meaning  Plato  and  Aristotle)  give 
several  names  to  the  same  thiDg,  that  they  divide  the  unity  of  Love, 
and  take  its  various  effects  for  different  Passions.  So  that  after  a  due 
examination  of  this  matter,  I  am  inclined  to  think  that  Love  is  the 
only  Passion  whereby  we  are  agitated ;  for  all  those  movements  that 
trouble  our  soul  are  but  so  many  distinguished  loves  ;  our  fears,  and  our 
desires,  our  hopes  and  our  despairs,  our  pleasures  and  our  pains,  are 
visages  assumed  by  Love,  according  to  the  good  or  ill  success  it  meets 
with ;  and,  as  the  sea  bears  different  names,  according  to  the  differ- 
ent parts  of  the  earth  it  washes  with  its  waters,  so  love  changes  its 
names  according  to  its  different  situations.  In  the  Pagan  mythology 
each  perfection  of  God  passed  for  a  divinity :  in  like  manner  the 
qualities  of  Love  have  been  taken  by  the  ancient  philosophers  for  dif- 
ferent Passions ;  and  those  great  men  imagined  that  as  often  as  it 
changed  its  way  of  acting,  or  employment,  it  also  changed  its  nature 
and  name.  But  if  this  argument  were  true,  the  soul  must  lose  her 
unity  every  time  she  produces  different  effects  ;  whence  she  that  di- 
gests meats,  and  distributes  the  blood  through  the  veins,  cannot  be 
the  same  that  speaks  with  the  tongue,  and  hears  with  the  ears." 

The  same  author,  with  equal  perspicuity,  confutes  the  objection 
which  has  been  raised  to  this  doctrine  on  the  supposition  of  a 
principle  of  repulsion,  or  aversion,  coinciding  with  myself  in  the 
opinion  which  I  have  already  expressed  on  this  head:  "  These 
cavillers  forget  (says  he)  that  the  same  cause  produces  contrary 
effects ;  that  the  heat  which  melts  wax,  dries  clay ;  that  the  mo- 
tion which  raises  our  hearts  to  heaven,  withdraws  us  from  the 
earth ;  that  our  inclination  of  self-preservation  is  an  aversion  from 
every  thing  that  may  contribute  to  hurt  us,  &c." 


16 

would  have  been  correct.  But  when,  immediately 
after,  he  observes  that  this  desire  cannot  exist,  with- 
out aversion  to  its  contrary,  it  is  clear  that  he  could 
not  have  had  a  correct  view  of  this  part  of  his 
subject;  for,  admitting  the  existence  of  this  aversion, 
or  repulsion,  how  could  the  mind  act  under  two 
principles  directly  the  reverse  ?  The  result  must 
be  a  state  of  quiescence;  but  this  is  incompatible 
with  the  idea  of  Passion.  To  repeat  what 
I  wish  so  much  to  enforce,  whatever  conspires 
with,  or  opposes,  our  volition,  may  excite  our  Pas- 
sions. Passion  is  the  concordance  or  resistance 
of  the  mind  to  such  causes,  and  he  who  tells  what 
makes  up  that  concordance  or  resistance,  gives  us 
an  analysis  of  a  Passion.  If  Dr.  Reid  had  told  us 
that  this  analysis  proves  that  desire,  or  attraction, 
forms  the  chief  constituent  in  a  Passion,  he  would, 
with  regard  to  Anger,  Grief,  and  Fear,  have  spoken 
the  truth.  But  when  he  attempts  to  accommodate 
Joy,  also,  to  this  definition,  he  assuredly  fails ;  for 
who  would  be  so  inconsistent  as  to  desire  that  which 
wTe  have  accomplished. 

Instead  of  Desire  constituting  the  perfection  of  a 
Passion,  or  that  characteristic  mark  whereby  it  may 
always  be  distinguished,  (as  Lord  Kaims  asserts,)  it 
is,  in  regard  to  Joy,  directly  the  contrary.  Thus  the 
attraction  between  parents  and  offspring,  or  Natu- 
ral Affection,  (see  Table  1.,)  which  no  one  calls  Pas- 


17 

sion,  prompts  a  devoted  mother  ardently  to  desire 
the  return  of  a  son  who  has  been  long  absent.  But 
when  once  returned,  and  in  her  embrace,  what  more 
can  she  wish !  Desire  can  no  more  exist  now  than 
two  bodies  can  occupy  the  same  place  at  once.  It 
is,  in  fact,  superseded  by  the  most  ecstatic  trans- 
ports of  joy.  "We  have  then  only  to  feel;  the 
gratified  wish  has  no  prospective  object."*  The 
same  may  be  said  of  Sexual  Love,  the  consum- 
mation of  which  is  the  most  celestial  and  unadulte- 
rated Joy:  far  above  desire,  either  mental  or  animal. 
Thus,  listen  to  the  language  of  a  lover  who  had  been 
seated  by  his  mistress  : 

Clt  ti5u  at,  §? 6%iois  tit  qw&s 

Ou5iv  !t'  iTxii, 
'AAAa  xafifijv  yK&crva  layr  Ktmov  35 
Aun'xa  x?<?  ffu?  viroStSfdiiaxtv 
JOmr6.Ttaaw  51  kdiv  ojiifi,  inrippo/ir 

€tuai  5'  dxsi. 
Ka55'  idpuy  -\J/uXf  oj  xin<u,  rprf/i©'  fit 
ITacrav  d<yyt~,  xKuqoiiq a  51  iroias 
1Ejijii'*  TtSvoixTiv  5'  oAi'yto  'mdSvcrrw 

(paivofia»  dffVBs.T  (Sappho.) 

*  MSS.  Lecture  on  the  connexion  of  "Physical  Derangement 
with  Moral  Character,"  by  W.  J.  M'Neven,  M.  D.  Professj  of 
Chemistry,  &c,  in  the  University  of  New-York;  politely  communi- 
cated by  the  author. 

f  Or  in  the  charming-  translation  of  this  ode  by  Mr.  Ambrose  Phil- 
lips. 

While  I  gaz'd,  in  transport  tost, 

My  breath  was  gone,  my  voice  was  lost, 
3 


18 

Were  we  to  coincide  with  Lord  Kaims,  in  respect 
to  Desire,  we  should  have  to  believe,  with  Hume, 
that  every  principle  of  action  is  passion.  We  ac- 
knowledge that  every  principle  of  action,  in  other 
words,  every  species  of  Attraction  comprehends 
Desire,  but  that  desire  itself  points  out  the  existence 
of  passion  we  absolutely  deny. 

The  word  Emotion,  which,  as  well  as  Desire,  has 
also  given  rise  to  much  discussion,  is  a  vague  term, 
sometimes  applied  to  simple  sensation,  sometimes  to 
denote  the  degree  of  action  in  a  passion,  strictly  so 
called.  (See  Table  II.) 

Emotion  should  be  made  to  signify  the  sudden 
conflict  of  contending  passions  and  affections,  pro- 
ducing, of  course,  a  restriction  of  action.  Thus  the 
indignation  of  a  father  towards  his  son,  counteracted 


My  bosom  glow'd ;  the  subtle  flame 
Kan  quick  through  all  my  vital  frame ; 
O'er  my  dim  eyes  a  darkness  hung ; 
My  ears  with  hollow  murmurs  rung : 

In  dewy  damps  my  limbs  were  chill'd ; 
My  blood  with  gentle  horrors  thrill'd ; 
My  feeble  pulse  forgot  to  play  ; 
I  fainted,  sunk,  and  died  away. 

(Spectator,  No.  229.) 


19 

by  Natural  Affection,  checks  the  arm  of  retribution. 
This  is  what  should  be  termed  an  emotion  of  Indigna- 
tion. So  the  contemplation  of  grandeur  and  beauty 
raises  an  emotion  of  Awe  mingled  with  Delight. 
More  or  less  Gloom  too  may  be  blended  with  both. 
Thus,  in  that  sublime  and  elegant  passage  in  Con- 
greve's  Mourning  Bride,  (a  passage  which  was 
termed  by  Dr.  Johnson  the  finest  specimen  of 
Poetry  in  the  English  language,)  we  find  the  mind 
struggling  under  the  influence  of  all  those  three 
Passions  at  the  same  moment : 

"  How  reverend  is  the  face  of  this  tall  pile, 

Whose  ancient  pillars  rear  their  marble  heads, 

To  bear  aloft  its  arch'd  and  ponderous  roof, 

By  its  own  weight  made  steadfast  and  immoveable. 

Looking  tranquillity !  It  strikes  an  awe 

And  terror  on  my  aching  sight ;  the  tombs 

And  monumental  caves  of  death  look  cold, 

And  shoot  achilness  to  my  trembling  heart,"  &c, 

When  we  speak  of  an  emotion  of  Fear,  we  gene- 
rally mean  a  conflict  in  the  mind,  between  the  Pas- 
sion and  the  Affection  Pride.  Thus,  though  an 
officer,  surrounded  by  his  comrades  on  the  field  of 
battle,  should  act  in  the  most  undaunted  manner, 
yet,  were  he  alone,  and  attacked  by  some  ferocious 
animal,  though  armed  and  prepared,  and  even  capa- 
ble of  destroying  his  antagonist,  his  Pride  would 


20 

most  probably  yield  to  the  overwhelming  influence 
of  Fear.  In  like  manner,  there  may  be  an  emotion 
of  Grief,  commingled  with  Joy  only.  Thus,  "  the 
memory  of  Joys  that  are  past,  (in  the  language 
of  Ossian,)  are  pleasant,  though  mournful  to  the 
soul." 

So  there  maybe  an  emotion  produced  by  the  syn- 
chronous action  of  Fear  and  Joy — as  in  that  "  be- 
lated peasant,"  whom  Milton  so  elegantly  speaks  of 
in  the  following  passage  : 

— — "  Like  that  pygmean  race 


Beyond  the  Indian  mount,  or  fairy  elves. 

Whose  midnight  revels  by  a  forest  side 

Or  fountain,  some  belated  peasant  sees, 

Or  dreams  he  sees  ;  while  over-head  the  moon 

Sits  arbitress  and  nearer  to  the  earth 

Wrheels  her  pale  course,  they  on  their  mirth  and  dance 

Intent,  with  jocund  music  charm  his  ear  ; 

At  once  his  heart  with  joy  and  fear  rebounds."  &c. 

But  if  the  presence  or  absence  of  rationality,  with- 
out regard  to  the  duration  of  a  Passion,  be  consi- 
dered the  only  test  of  its  characer,  the  term  Passion 
may  be  applied  more  extensively.  Thus,  in  this 
sense,  it  may  properly  be  made  to  include  certain 
permanent  habitudes  and  affections,  which  occasion- 
ally usurp  possession  of  the  mind.  That  this  usur- 
pation  takes  place  at  the  expense  of  Reason,  is  evi- 
dent, from  the  pervading  influence  which,  when  pre- 


21 

sent,  they  are  seen  to  have  upon  all  our  actions. 
Thus,  from  among  the  malevolent  affections,  a  man 
may  have  a  Passion  for  Cruelty,  Slander,  Vulgar- 
ity, Insolence,  Hypocrisy,  Blasphemy,  &c.  ;  from 
among  the  vices,  a  Passion  for  Obsequiousness*  Ec- 
centricity, Procrastination,  &c.  ;  from  among  the 
benevolent  affections,  a  Passion  for  Benevolence, 
(called  Prodigality,)  for  Hospitality,  Gallantry,  (or 
Chivalry,)  Politeness,  &c. ;  from  among  the  virtues, 
a  Passion  for  Honesty,  for  Candour,  Chastity,  &c. 
The  continued  propensity,  or  subjection  of  the  mind 
to  any  of  these  affections,  is  what  gives  to  them  also, 
in  common  opinion,  the  character  of  a  Passion. 
There  are  many  other  qualities  of  the  mind,  which 
are  so  frequently  met  with,  under  this  modification, 
that  they  are  by  some  always  placed  among  the 
Passions.  Such  are  Vanity,  and  Pride  ;  Love  of 
Country,  ( or  Patriotism,)  of  Wealth,  (or  Avarice,)  of 
Fame,  (or  Ambition,)  of  Novelty,  (or  Curiosity ,f)  &c. 
Sexual  Love,  which  is  invariably  set  down  among  the 

*  "  There  are  some  minds  which  naturally  sink  into  submission, 
which  look  on  grandeur  with  undistinguishing  reverence*  and  which 
can  discover  no  defect  where  there  is  elevation  of  rank  or  affluence 
of  riches."  Dr.  Johnson's  Lives  of  the  Poets. 

f  I  cannot  pass  by  this  opportunity  of  promulgating  the  following 
ingenious  definition  of  this  affection,  by  my  friend  and  fellow  student 
"Dr.  B.  P.  Aydelott:  "  Novelty,  (says  he,  in  a  MS.  letter  to  the  au- 
thor,) you  know,  excites  the  curiosity,  and  thus  becomes  the  keenest 
spur  to  mental  exertion.    How  great,  therefore,  should  be  our  admi- 


22 

Passions,  has,  in  truth,  no  stronger  claims  to  that  title 
than  those  affections  which  I  have  just  enumerated ; 
for  it  never  becomes,  in  strict  language,  a  Passion, 
unless  success  crowns  it  with  Joy,  or  disappoint- 
ment shrouds  it  in  Grief.  Hence,  we  naturally 
arrive  at  last  to  those  four  Primary  Passions,  only 
to  which  our  definition  may  be  applied  in  every  par- 
ticular— viz.  Joy,  Grief,  Anger,  Fear.  But  since, 
from  the  predominating  influence  of  Sexual  Love  upon 
the  system,  (more  than  almost  every  other  species 
of  Attraction,)  it  most  usually  presents  itself  to  us  as 
one  of  the  continued  forms  of  Grief  or  Joy,  or  as  the 
theatre  of  all  the  Passions  indiscriminately,  we  have 
thought  proper  to  consider  it,  as  regards  its  Me- 
dical Influence,  in  the  light  of  a  Passion. 

To  invariably  connect,  however,  with  our  idea  of 
a  Passion  that  latitude  of  meaning  of  which  we  have 
just  spoken,  (see  p.  20,  21.,)  though,  perhaps,  in  a  mo- 
ral sense,  highly  proper,  would  involve  us  in  a  good 
deal  of  obscurity.  It  even  throws  a  cloud  over  the 
distinction  between  virtue  and  vice.     Thus,  though 

ratioa  and  gratitude,  "when  we  consider  what  a  listless,  leaden- 
minded  race  we  should  have  been,  had  not  the  Almighty  endued  us 
with  Curiosity,  or  a  capability  of  being  excited  by  novelty — that 
relative  attribute  of  existence."  To  which  he  annexed  the  following 
explanatory  note  :  "  Ideas  or  substances  may  be  new  to  one  and  not 
to  another  ;  hence,  I  say,  novelty  is  relative,  or,  in  other  words,  that 
it  depends  upon  the  condition  of  the  mind  with  regard  to  former  per- 
ceptions. It  is  an  attribute  of  existence,  because  it  may  be  perceived 
ia  every  thing  that  has  being,  both  material  and  immaterial." 


23 

the  opinion  of  the  world  may,  on  most  occasions,  be 
correct,  who  shall  take  upon  himself  to  decide,  in  all 
instances,  upon  the  rationality  of  a  man's  conduct  ? 
who  shall  say  where  that  system  of  Prudence  which 
virtue  and  wisdom  recommend  becomes  Parsimony, 
or  even  Avarice  ?  who  shall  tell  when  Politeness  de- 
generates into  Punctiliousness,  or  where  Pride  rises 
to  Arrogance  ? 

Though  the  true  definition  of  a  Passion  is  such 
as  we  have  given  it  above,  and  though  the  four 
radical  Passions,  which  I  have  just  mentioned, 
(viz.,  Anger,  Joy,  Grief,  and  Fear,)  are  all  measura- 
ble by  this  definition;  yet,  certain  it  is,  that  they 
are  capable  of  appearing  under  a  more  permanent 
and  continued  form  than  that  to  which  the  defini- 
tion strictly  applies.  This  state  of  the  mind  resem- 
bles that  of  an  affection  where  it  runs  into  a  propen- 
sity, (see  p.  20,  21.,)  but  it  is  more  justly  entitled  to 
the  appellation  of  Passion,  because  it  is  originally 
moulded  in  Passion.  It  is,  in  fact,  a  Passion  "  in  ex- 
tenso."  This  form  might  have  been  inferred,  when 
we  bring  to  our  recollection  that  the  Passions  are 
capable,  also,  of  combining  with  many  of  the  Affec- 
tions.*1 The  Passions  vary,  also,  in  their  degree  of 
action ;  this  applies  only  to  the  action  of  a  Passion, 
strictly  so  called. 

Hence  the  Passions  are  to  be  viewed  under  two 
important  heads,  viz.,  1st,  according  to  their  dura- 

*  See  the  following  Table. 


24 

tion,  whether  transient  or  permanent ;  the  first  kind 
constituting  the  only  true  form  of  a  Passion,  and  va- 
rying according  to  degree  of  action.  And,  2d,  ac- 
cording to  their  combinations.  To  make  this  sub- 
ject a  little  more  plain,  I  subjoin  the  following  Ta- 
ble: 

TABLE  II. 

THE  PASSIONS. 


So! 

f-i 

«5*  < 


a 


ANGER.. 

"  1.  Disagreeable  Sensation. 

2.  Irritated. 

3.  Indignant. 

4.  Enraged. 

5.  Incensed. 

6.  Furious. 

7.  Mad. 

8.  Frenzied. 

^  9.  Outrageous. 
"  Antipathy.       ^ 

Disgust. 

Animosity.         I    ffi 

Abhorrency.      >  » 

Malignancy.  ? 

Revenge. 

Rancour.  J 

Mistrust.  \    g 

Suspicion.         >   5* 

Jealousy.  }  % 

Emulous.  ~\ 

Rivalling.         f  |? 

Invidious.  £  •<  c 

Envious.  3  S 

f  Peevishness.  «_ 

I  Fretfulness.  | 

^  Disinterestedness.  J 

|   Churlishness.  S 

^  Freakishness,  &c.  -g 

Cholerickness.  g 

High-mettled. 

Passionate. 

Inflammable. 

Hasty. 

Quarrelsome. 
^  Distemperate,  &c. 


o5 


FEAR. 

1 .  Disagreeable  Sensation. 

2.  Wonder. 

3.  Surprise. 

4.  Fluttered. 

5.  Startled. 

6.  Amazed. 

7.  Alarmed. 

8.  Astonished. 

9.  Shocked. 

10.  Terrified. 

11.  Horror. 

12.  Dismay. 
Skittish. 
Irresolute. 
Timorous. 

Faint-heartedness,  &c. 
Fearful. 

Dread. 
Shiness. 
Caution,  &c. 

1.  Pusillanimity. 

2.  Spiritless. 

3.  Heartless. 

4.  Cowardly. 

5.  Dastardly,  &c. 
Guilt. 

Repentance. 
Contriteness. 
Humility. 
Lowliness. 
Meekness,  &c. 


25 


GRIEF. 


»„  in  ** 
E.2  © 


a 


•<3  £ 


1.  Disagreeable  Sensation. 

2.  Sorrowful. 

3.  Mournful. 

4.  Doleful. 

5.  Repining*. 

6.  Distressful. 

7.  Comfortless. 

8.  Inconsolable. 

9.  Forlorn. 

1.  Sedateness. 

2.  Seriousness. 

3.  Solemnity. 

4.  Sad. 

5.  Gloomy. 

6.  Downcast. 

7.  Depressed. 

8.  Melancholy. 

9.  Desponding". 

10.  Dismal.  | 

11.  Despair.  «- 

12.  Desperation.  n 

1.  Disquietude.  .2 

2.  Solicitude.  I 

3.  Anxiety.  •§ 

1.  Forbearance.  2 

2.  Forgiveness. 

3.  Clemency. 

4.  Mercy. 

5.  Compassion. 

6.  Commiseration. 

7.  Condolence. 
Sensibility. 


a  s 


1.  Agreeable  Sensation . 

2.  Gladness. 

3.  Elevated. 

4.  Blissful. 

5.  Transport. 

6.  Rapture. 

7.  Ecstacy. 

8.  Enchantment. 

9.  Frantickness. 
r  1.  Equanimity. 

2.  Calmness. 

3.  Composure. 

4.  Complacency. 

5.  Serenitude. 

6.  Beatitude. 
Hopeful. 
Encouraged. 

s  Animated. 

Cheerfulness. 

Loveliness. 

Sprightliness. 

Jocund. 

Jocose. 

Vivacious. 
^  Gay,  &c, 


•ed-cl 
i.   S- 


Remarks  upon  this  Table. 


It  will  be  seen,  that  the  Passions  are  sometimes 
capable  of  combining  with  each  other,  (as  Grief 
and  Fear,)  and  that  some  of  the  evanescent  con- 
tinued forms  of  one  Passion,  are  with  difficulty  dis- 
tinguished from  those  of  the  other;  (as  Sedateness 
from  Composure;)  it  is  thus  they  run  into  each 
other.     The   same  difficulty  attends   some  of  their 

4 


26 

continued  forms  and  certain  affections,  which  are  so 
intermingled,  that  they  are  promiscuously  classed 
under  either  head.  Thus,  with  Caution,  Shiness, 
Wiliness,  Wariness,  &c.  which  with  some  would  be 
styled  virtues,  and  with  others,  modifications  of 
Fear. 

Irritability  (see  Anger)  means  the  continued  sus- 
ceptibility of  the  mind  to  spasms  of  Anger,  though 
never  amounting  to  a  state  of  vehemence.  Its  va- 
rious forms  are  given.  The  passion  seems  here  to 
wear  itself  out,  by  a  constant  repetition  of  feeble 
efforts,  as  in  the  peevish  child  or  old  man. 

Irascibility  signifies  a  great  susceptibility  to  the 
Passion  in  its  genuine  form.  Its  forms  are  also 
given. 

Timidity  bears  the  same  relation  to  Fear  that 
Irritability  does  to  Anger;  it  expresses  a  suscepti- 
bility to  perpetual  alarms,  but,  unlike  Irritability,  it 
does  not  seem  to  extenuate  or  ameliorate  the  force 
of  the  Passion,  but  rather  predisposes  the  mind  to 
be  more  powerfully  affected  by  it. 

Sensibility  implies  the  susceptibility  to  Grief. 

Though  we  willingly  allow  that  there  may  be 
continued  forms  of  Fear,  Grief,  and  Joy,  as  Dread, 
Complacency,  and  Melancholy  ;  it  may  be  asked, 
whether  we  can,  with  equal  propriety,  give  to  Anger 
also  a  permanent  dress.  It  certainly  is  the  most  dis- 
tinguished Passion  on  the  list,  and  has  an  influence 


27 

upon  the  affairs  of  men,  more  energetic,  and  more 
extensive,  than  that  of  any  other.  Hence,  it  is 
usually  termed  Passion,  by  way  of  pre-eminence. 
So  great  is  this  influence,  that  we  should  not  perhaps 
err  greatly  from  the  common  opinion,  were  we  to 
set  it  down  as  the  parent  of  all  the  malevolent 
affections  of  which  the  human  mind  is  capable. 
That  it  often  lays  the  foundation  of  many  of  these 
affections,  is  every  day  demonstrated ;  but  that  they 
may  all  be  generated  de  novo,  and  that  most  of  them 
usually  are  so  produced,  is,  in  my  view,  equally  clear. 
This  Passion  (Anger)  is  undoubtedly,  like  all  the 
malevolent  affections,  marked  by  a  strong  inclination 
to  the  commission  of  evil ;  but  this  inclination  differs 
from  that  which  they  exhibit,  in  this  important  point, 
that  it  is  never  premeditated.  In  one  it  is  Malice, 
in  the  other  an  instinctive  and  momentary  impulse. 
The  difference,  therefore,  lies  in  this,  that  the  attrac- 
tion towards  evil  (see  Table  I.)  must,  in  one  in- 
stance, be  prepense,  while  in  the  other  it  is  ever 
transient,  and  lives  only  in  the  gust  of  Passion. 

But  inasmuch  as  Anger  is  so  closely  allied  to 
some  of  these  Affections,  by  a  malevolent  disposition 
of  mind,  common  to  both — I  have  placed  Hatred, 
Jealousy,  and  Envy,  as  among  the  number  of  its 
continued  forms.  Revenge,  perhaps,  is  the  only  de- 
cided affection  which  deserves  a  place  here ;  for  it  is 
Anger  unappeased. 


28 

Under  Envy  will  be  found  Emulation,  as  one  of  its 
varieties.  Emulation  is,  in  truth,  a  virtue  founded  on 
Self  Love,  or  the  Love  of  Fame;  and  is  only  put 
here  to  show  that  natural  gradation,  and  intermix- 
ture, which  so  universally  pervades  the  immaterial, 
as  well  as  material,  world. 

The  other  malevolent  affections  being  mostly 
founded  on  malice  purely,  have  nothing  to  do  with 
this  table.  They  are  denoted  by  a  natural  want  of 
feeling,  or  Insensibility,  as  in  the  Melancholic  and 
Phlegmatic  Temperaments. 

Though  we  have  traced  the  action  of  the  Passions 
down  to  the  mere  state  of  disagreeable,  or  agreeable 
sensation,  (see  Table  II.,)  it  was  only  to  preserve 
the  chain  unbroken  between  simple  feeling  and  pas- 
sion. I  need  not  enter  into  any  tedious  disqui- 
sition between  these  two  states  of  mind.  Their  dif- 
ference is  immediately  perceptible ;  the  one  being 
clearly  a  state  of  simple,  the  other  of  complex  sensa- 
tion, the  one  arising  most  usually  from  any  thing 
which  can  cause  corporal  pain,  or  pleasure,  the  other 
wholly  intellectual,  and  ascribable  to  some  exertion 
of  the  mind  solely.  Some  difficulty,  however,  might 
be  imagined,  from  their  being  often  attended  with  si- 
milar phenomena.  Thus  Fears,  and  Expressions  of 
distress  in  the  countenance,  which  frequently  follow 
the  simple  sensation  of  pain,  are  a  part  also  of  the 
phenomena  of  Grief.     So  the  simple  perception  of 


29 

an  agreeable  sensation  by  the  mind,  is  very  different 
from  the  real  Passion  of  Joy.  But  between  the 
point  of  mere  feeling,  and  the  commencement  of 
Passion,  there  is  an  impenetrable  mist.  It  would  be 
as  difficult  to  point  out  precisely  where  Passion  be- 
gins, as  to  draw  the  line  between  the  animal  and 
vegetable  world.  For  our  notions  of  a  Passion,  we 
must  be  content  to  examine  some  of  the  higher 
grades  of  its  action;  and  even  some  of  these,  I  have 
shown,  are  involved  in  considerable  obscurity. 

Hope  is  merely  Joy  in  anticipation,  in  the  same 
way  that  Dread  is  imaginary  danger. 

Wonder  and  Surprise  are  not  admitted  to  be  Pas- 
sions by  Lord  Kaims,  and  are  attempted  to  be  dis- 
tinguished by  much  subtle  speculation  ;#  but  they 
are,  in  fact,  indubitably,  degrees  of  Fear.  Whatever 
other  Passions  may  afterwards  follow,  or  combine 
with  them,  they  themselves,  in  their  unalloyed  and 
insulated  state,  are  certainly  to  be  considered  as 
some  of  the  most  distinct  illustrations  of  this  Passion. 

*  "  Elements  of  Criticism,"  Vol.  L 


30 


PART  II. 


The  Passions,  though  they  have  been  by  some 
improperly  excluded  from  the  Mind,  are  as  much 
emanations  of  that  part  of  our  being  as  any  of  its 
faculties.  It  is  from  their  having  so  direct,  so  pow- 
erful, and  immediate  an  influence  on  the  material 
part  of  Man,  and  by  their  operation,  being  always 
accompanied  by  certain  characteristic  commotions 
of  the  frame,  that  this  error  has  arisen.  The  Me- 
mory, the  Imagination,  the  Perception,  or  the  Judg- 
ment, which  are  ordinarily  termed  the  Faculties  of 
the  Mind,  may  be  called  into  the  most  intense 
action,  and  yet  not  one  function  of  the  system  be 
disturbed.  But  the  Passions  thrill  through  every 
nerve,  and  affect  every  fibre  of  the  body. 

What  renders  this  difference  between  these  two 
orders  of  Faculties  the  more  conspicuous,  is,  the 
Diseases  which  they  produce.  That  order  which 
is  more  particularly  confined  in  its  operations  to  the 
mind,  produces  its  morbid  effects  first  in  the  mind, 
but  affects  the  body  only  secondarily.     The  delete- 


31 

rious  operation  of  the  Passions,  on  the  other  hand, 
is  directed  at  once  against  the  whole  system. 

The  Appetites,  as  Hunger,  Thirst,  and  Lust,  are 
totally  distinct  from  the  Passions,  and  are  to  be 
ranked  with  the  different  Senses. 

It  may  be  observed  of  the  Passions,  that  they  are 
ever  accompanied  by  an  exertion  of  the  Imagination. 
Whatever  may  be  the  object  of  the  Passion,  we  al- 
ways behold  it  through  the  exaggerating  glass  of 
Fancy. 

"  Like  a  magic  lanthorn,  it  raises  up  spectres  and 
apparitions  that  have  no  reality,  and  throws  false 
colours  upon  every  object.  It  can  turn  deformity 
into  beauty,  vice  into  virtue,  and  virtue  into  vice."* 

Though  the  Passions  are  in  such  close  alliance 
with  the  Imagination,  between  them  and  the  Reason- 
ing Power  of  Man  there  is  a  decided  and  inveterate 
hostility.  When  Passion  assumes  the  rod,  Reason 
takes  her  flight,  and  soars  aloft  into  more  genial 
regions.  It  would  indeed  be  too  ignominious  for 
that  heavenly  goddess  to  be  subjected  to  the  mis- 
rule of  this  anarch  of  the  mind.  Nature  never  de- 
signed it,  but  intended  that  Passion  should  ever  be 
subservient  to  the  dictates  of  Reason.  Acting: 
under  this  auspicious  Star,  common  sense  informs 
us,  that  "  the  Passions  are  as  salutary  and  necessary 

*  Reid  on  the  Mind. 


32 

to  the  body,  as  storms  and  tempests  are  to  the  salu- 
brity of  the  air.',# 

Some  have  contended,  with  a  prudence  worthier 
of  a  more  enlarged  conception,  that  the  Passions 
should  be  wholly  eradicated  from  the  mind,  by  the 
most  rigid  system  of  Stoicism.  But  this  is  over- 
weaning  and  short-sighted  economy.  Such  per- 
sons  declaim  against  the  Passions  as  they  do  against 
the  Elements,  for  they  cannot  deduce  absolute  good 
from  apparent  evil.  It  needs  the  expanded  mind  of 
a  Shakspeare  or  a  Johnson,  to  comprehend  and 
point  out  those  vast  designs  of  Providence.  The 
former  could  find, 

l*  sermons  in  stones,  books  in  running  brooks,  and  good  in  every 
thing;?5 

while  the  tatter  saw,  that  4;  the  Sun  which  burnt  up 
the  mountains  fructifies  the  vales,  and  that  the  de- 
luge which  rushes  down  the  broken  rocks  is  sepa- 
rated into  meandering  streams."! 

We    agree  with  the   Peripatetics,  and  cordially 

*  Rdd  on  the  "  Human  Mind."  The  Heathens  considered  the 
Passions,  Storms,  and  Tempests,  as  well  as  Distempers,  all  in  the 
same  light,  and  worshipped  them  as  divinities  that  they  might  do  thea 
no  harm.     (Plutarch.) 

f  "  Lives  of  the  Poets, M 


33 

unite  with  Dr.  Beattie  in  exclaiming  against  sto- 
icism : 

u  Perish  the  lore  that  deadens  young  desire  ! 
Pursue,  poor  imp,  th'  imaginary  charm, 
Indulge  gay  hope  and  fancy's  pleasing  fire  ; 
Fancy  and  Hope  too  soon  shall  of  themselves  expire.* 

Without  Passion,  man  would  sink  into  cold  and 
listless  apathy,  and  be  but  a  blank  in  the  Creation. 

"  On  life's  vast  ocean  diversely  we  sail, 

Reason  the  card,  but  Passion  is  the  gale  i 

Nor  God  alone  in  the  still  calm  we  find, 

He  mounts  the  storms,  and  walks  upon  the  wind."f 

That  unnatural  action,  or  that  deviation  or  depai% 
ture  from  the  ordinary  and  equable  state  of  the  va- 
rious functions,  which  forms  so  prominent  and  deci- 
sive a  feature  of  the  Passions,  is  generally  of  short 

*  Beattie's  Minstrel,  stanza  31. 

f  Pope's  "  Essay  on  Man."  "  There  is  no  bad  action  which, 
some  passion  may  not  prevent ;  nor  is  there  any  external  good  action, 
of  which  some  passion  may  not  be  the  main  spring.  The  Passions 
are  a  natural  language  common  to  mankind,  without  which  it  would 
have  been  impossible  to  have  invented  any  artificial  language.  It  is 
from  the  natural  signs  of  the  passions  and  dispositions  of  the  mind, 
that  the  human  form  derives  its  beauty ;  that  painting,  poetry,  and 
music,  derive  their  expression ;  that  eloquence  derives  its  greatest 
force,  and  conversation  its  greatest  charm."       R&id  on  the  Mind. 

5 


34 

duration.  When  too  long  continued,- or  too- violent 
in  degree,  it  gives  to  the  Passions  an  altered  form, 
and  often  becomes  the  source  even  of  morbid 
changes. 

Together  with  those  to  which,  in  my  opinion, 
according  to  the  strict  meaning  of  the  term,  more 
properly  belong  the  name  of  Passions,  I  have,  for  the 
reasons  already  assigned,  (p.  22,  Part  I.,)  sub- 
joined Sexual  Love.  Hence,  we  shall  speak  of  the* 
following  five,  viz. 

ANGER,  GRIEF, 

LOVE,  FEAR, 

Joy. 

And  these  more  especially  fall  under  our  consider* 
ation  in  this  Dissertation,  because,  when  acting  in 
their  native  energy,  they  rank  among  the  most  com- 
mon sources  of  Disease.  The  few  instances  in 
which  they  have,  at  such  times,  removed  existing 
Diseases,  are  indeed  so  few,  that  this  accidental  de- 
viation from  their  general  character  does  not  affect 
our  position. 

The  passions  may  be  generalized  still  farther,  and 
arranged,  solely,  according  to  their  effects  upon  the 
system.  And  this  arrangement,  inasmuch  as  it  is 
more   medical,   we  shall  here  adopt,  making  two 


35 

great  Classes,  viz.  such  as  exhilarate,  and  such  as 
depress,  the  system. 

In  the  First  Class,  those  which  exhilarate  are  An- 
ger, Joy,  and  Love. 

In  the  Second  Class,  such  as  depress  are  Grief 
•and  Fear.* 

1st.  THE  EXHILARATING  PASSIONS. 

Of  this  class,  it  may  be  observed,  in  a  general  way, 
that  they  increase  the  tone  of  the  nervous,  and  the 
force  and  velocity  of  the  circulating,  system ;  and,  in 
short,  act,  in  every  sense,  like  the  most  powerful  stimu- 
lants. Perhaps,  too,  we  might  say  here  that  their  ac- 
tion is  either  diffusible  or  permanent,  according  to  the 
nature  of  the  object  by  which  they  are  excited.  Thus 
a  sudden  burst  of  Anger,  of  Joy,  or  of  Love,  (which 
in  this  instance  would  be  no  more  nor  less  than  Joy,) 
roused  by  the  sudden  presence  of  objects  destined 
to  call  these  passions  into  action,  would  be  but  of 
momentary  duration  ;  while,  on  the  other  hand,  their 
more  gradual  and  continued  exertion,  formed  from 
a  habitual  occurrence  of,  and  attention  to,  the  ex- 
citing objects,  would  leave  effects  fully  as  perma^ 
nent;. 

*  I  have  considered  the  Symptoms  of  the  Passions  (for  the  term 
Symptom  is  very  appropriate  here,  since  it  is  applied  to  the  phenomena 
of  what  are,  when  excessive,  in  reality,  Mental  Diseases)  too  fami- 
liar to  need  particular  detail- 


36 

That  the  nervous  and  vascular  systems  are  pow- 
erfully excited  under  the  operation  of  these  Pas- 
sions, is  evident.  All  our  functions  are  carried  on 
with  greater  vigour  and  activity;  the  mind  acts 
with  redoubled  energy,  as  evinced  in  the  vivacity 
and  rapidity  of  thought;  while  the  secretions  and 
excretions  of  the  system  are  affected  In  a  corres- 
ponding manner. 

From  the  general  view  we  have  taken  of  this 
Class  of  Passions,  we  may  draw  some  inferences  in 
regard  to  the  morbid  changes  which  they  may  in^ 
duce  in  the  system.  I  would  first  remark,  then,  that 
from  the  sudden  operation  of  such  powerfully  ex^ 
citing  agents,  we  are  to  apprehend  effects  as  sudden 
and  disastrous.  We  are  to  look  for  the  various 
kinds  of  Hemorrhage,  and  to  prognosticate  results 
more  or  less  alarming,  according  to  the  seat  of  such 
haemorrhage.  I  think,  also,  from  the  violent  ges^ 
tures,  contortions,  and  motions,  which,  as  their  na- 
tural language,  often  accompany  these  Passions,  we 
should  not  be  surprised  sometimes  to  find  Disloca- 
tions, Fractures,  and  Hernice.  From  the  habitual  and 
continued  exertion  of  such  Passions,  we  rationally 
anticipate  prolonged  excitement,  or  that  which  con- 
stitutes Fevers  and  the  Phlegmasia 

We  may  now  speak  of  these  Passions  singly,  and 
of  their  individual  operation, 


37 

ANGER. 

Anger  is  that  Passion  which  forms  the  indisso- 
luble link  between  us  and  the  animal  creation. 
It  is  the  passion  which,  of  all  others,  degrades  and 
brutalizes  our  natures,  proving  equally  destruc- 
tive to  the  morals  and  constitution.  Independent  of 
its  directly  pernicious,  and  sometimes  dangerous 
operation  upon  the  system,  when  often  repeated  it 
becomes  the  source  of  innumerable  diseases.* 

No  Passion  rules  with  such  absolute  sway  as 
Anger.  Under  its  baleful  influence,  the  Human 
Form  is  disrobed  of  all  its  angelic  mildness,  and 
distorted    with    the    hideous   fury    of    the    Tiger. 


Senseless  and  deformed, 


Convulsive  Anger  storms  at  large,  f- 


The  due  regulation  of  this  Passion  has  formed 
the  most  fruitful  theme  of  remark,  among  the  Philo- 
sophers of  all  ages.  One  of  the  most  beautiful  pre- 
cepts to  be  met  with  on  this  subject,  and  one  which 
conveys  a  most  sententious  but  correct  idea  of  the 
Passion,  is  in  Horace,  and  deserves  to  be  recorded 
here : — 

Ira  furor  brevis  est.     Animum  rege,  qui  nisi  paret, 
imperat :  hunc  fraenis,  hunc  tu  compesce  catena. 
Fingit  equum  tenera  docilem  cervice  magister 
Ire  viam,  quammonstrat  eques.J ■ — 

*  "  Nulla  pestis  humano  generi  pluris  stetit." — Seneca  de  Ira  Lib.  I. 
f  Thomson's  Reasons.  \  Epist.  II.  Lib.  I. 


38 

But  it  is  a  lamentable  truth,  that  it  too  often  re- 
quires a  severer  rein  than  Reason  to  curb  its  fury; 
and  that  even  this  rein  is  but  too  seldom  applied. 
Let  me  not,  however,  add  to  the  list  of  calamities 
that  already  attends  this  state  of  our  existence,  and 
pray  that  some  terrific  malady  might  ever  follow  its 
unguarded  employment — but  allow  me  to  deplore 
the  state  of  that  mind  whose  powers  of  ratiocination 
are  too  weak  or  too  unfledged  to  quell  its  licentious 
turbulence.  As  if,  indeed,  to  secure  the  living  ma- 
chine against  the  evil  consequence  which  would  in^ 
evitably  flow  from  the  so  constant  prevalence  of 
this  Passion  in  all  animated  creation,  we  find  a  par- 
ticular provision  as  we  go  down  the  scale  of  Beings. 
Even  among  human  beings,  according  as  they  are, 
more  or  less,  the  victims  to  Anger;  and  especially 
as  we  descend  into  the  class  of  brutes,  we  perceive 
that  nature  has  proportionably  fortified  every  part 
of  the  corporeal  structure  against  the  convulsive  at- 
tacks of  an  unbridled  ferocity. 

There  are  those,  however,  whose  mental  acquire- 
ments would  warrant  the  expectation  of  a  manly 
subjection  of  this  Passion,  but  who,  melancholy  to 
relate,  are  often,  very  often  the  creatures  of  the 
most  ungovernable  rage.  One  of  the  most  remarka- 
ble instances  of  the  dreadful  effects  of  Anger,  in 
such  persons,  is  the  celebrated  Hunter.  But  the 
case  is  too  well  known  to  every  yro  of  Medicine 


39 

to-  make  it  necessary  to  relate  it  here.  In  this  ex- 
traordinary case,  the  Passion  into  which  he  was 
thrown  may  be  said  to  have  been  the  exciting  cause 
of  his  death.  The  predisposing  cause  was  some 
mal-organization  of  his  heart.  Whether  this  was  the 
effect  of  his  naturally  irascible  temper,  or  whether 
it  was  congenital,  I  know  not,  but  it  certainly  was 
the  true  disease  of  which  he  perished.  At  any  rate, 
the  particular  fit  of  Anger  which  finally  terminated 
his  career,  is  an  illustration  of  that  kind  of  operation 
in  a  Passion,  by  which  it  acted,  not  as  the  primary 
cause  of  disease,  but  only  as  one  fortuitous,  or  modi- 
fying a  disease  already  present  in  the  system — that 
sort  of  modification,  indeed,  which  proved,  alas,  too 
fatal.  In  other  cases,  by  the  rupture  of  a  vessel 
in  some  important  part,  we  have  seen  it  suddenly  ar- 
rest the  most  vigorous  constitution,  and  in  this  awful 
state  of  mind,  in  a  moment,  plunge  the  unfortunate 
being  into  eternity. 

Dr.  Hosack  relates  the  case  of  a  gentleman,  in 
this  city,  who,  in  a  fit  of  rage  with  his  servant, 
brought  on  a  most  alarming  Hemorrhage  from  the 
liver.*  Other  diseases  induced  by  this  passion  are 
Syncope,  Asphyxia,  Hysteria  ;f  Aphonia,  Convulsions, 

*  "MS.  Notes  of  Lectures  on  the  Theory  and  Practice  of  Physic 
in  the  University  of  New-York,  by  David  Hosack,  M.  D.  Profes- 
sor, &c." 

f  Rush  on  the  "  Diseases  of  the  ^lind." 


40 

Delirium,  Apoplexy,  Epilepsy,  Haemorrhoids ;#  Diar~ 
rhcearf  Epistaxis,%  Inflammatory  Diseases.  Aneurism 
has  been  ruptured,  and  all  Nervous  Diseases  are  aggra- 
vated by  it.  Aretaeus  and  Seneca  set  it  down  as  an 
especial  cause  of  Madness.  Hence,  says  Aretaeus, 
"  Ira  immodica  gignit  insaniam."  "  In  hot  choleric 
bodies,  (says  Burton,)  nothing  so  soon  causeth  Mad- 
ness as  this  passion  of  Anger."  Ajax  and  Charles 
VI.  of  France,  are  said  to  have  fallen  victims  to 
Madness  thus  induced.  Aretaeus  makes  it  a  cause, 
also,  of  Melancholy.  Thus  "  Ira  et  moeror,  et  in- 
gens  animi  consternatio,  melancholicos  facit."  The 
function  of  the  Liver  is  also  often  affected,  showing 
a  morbid  increase  of  the  bile,  and  hence  Jaundice.** 

*  See  Hildanus,  Pechlin,  Hoffman,  &c. 

f  In  the  "  Acta  Naturae  Curiosorura,"  there  is  recorded  the  sin- 
gular case  of  a  schoolmaster  who  was  always  obliged  to  hurry  off  to 
the  yard  whenever  his  scholars  put  him  in  a  Passion. 

"  It  is  on  this  principle  of  its  increasing  the  bilious  secretion,  that 
an  ingenious  Physician  once  succeeded  in  removing  an  obstinate  cos- 
tiveness.  He  prescribed  a  laxative  potion,  but  ordered  the  attend- 
ant not  to  administer  it  until  he  had  first  put  the  patient  in  a  Passion. 
From  the  same  inertness  that  made  him  insensible  to  the  irritations 
of  purgatives,  he  was  not  irascible,  and  the  servant  was  despairing  of 
executing  his  commission,  when  a  lawyer  luckily  came  in  to  take  an 
inquest ;  this  was  too  much  for  the  gentleman's  patience,  he  began  to 
grow  red,  the  servant  saw  the  opportunity,  administered  the  potion, 
and  it  operated  without  delay."  (MS.  Lecture  of  Dr.  M'Neven, 
before  quoted.) 

J  Dr.  Hosack  attended  a  patient  with  repeated  and  alarming  bleed-* 
ings  from  the  nose,  entirely  induced  by  this  cause* 

**  Crichton6n  "  Mental  Derangement." 


41 

Harvey  gives  the  case  of  a  man  who  fell  into  a 
violent  rage  on  receiving  a  public  affront  which  he 
could  not  punish.  He  perished  on  the  spot.  On 
dissection,  the  heart  and  large  vessels  were  found 
dilated  to  the  size  of  those  of  an  ox. 

Anger  is  particularly  pernicious  to  ivomen,  de- 
ranging their  peculiar  functions,  and  often  causing 
in  them  the  most  incurable  vomitings. 

The  continued  forms  of  this  Passion,  (Table  II.,) 
since  they  all  denote  Disappointment  or  Melancho- 
ly, are,  when  productive  of  disease,  efficient  proba- 
bly only  from  this  cause.  Dr.  Rush  (on  the  "  Diseases 
of  the  Mind")  goes  so  far  as  to  say  that  he  believes 
"  most  of  the  chronic  diseases  of  high  life  arise  from 
these  sources."  Anger  is  but  rarely  salutary  in  its 
operation ;  Palsy,  however,  is  said  to  have  been  sud- 
denly cured  by  a  fit  of  Anger.# 

JOY. 

Joy  comes  next  to  be  spoken  of.  This  Passion  can 
never  be  truly  exerted,  but  from  a  generous  prin- 
ciple. Its  effects,  too,  are  almost  universally  sa- 
lutary, acting,  either  in  its  continued  or  tran- 
sient form,  as  a  pure  and  cheering  stimulus  on  the 
constitution,  which  we  should  ever  endeavour  to 
promote,  rather  than  interrupt.     Who  indeed  would 

*  Tulpius  and  Valerius  M aximus. 

6 


42 

basely  mar  the  exultation  of  the  Patriot  at  the  thrill- 
ing trump  of  victory,  or  the  unmingled  joy  of  the 
Cottager  in  the  embraces  of  a  long-lost  child  ! 

But  Joy,  too,  may  be  carried  to  excess,  and  even 
prove  fatal.  We  have  heard  of  mothers  who  have 
died  for  Joy  on  the  return  of  their  sons  from 
battle  !#  Pliny  mentions  that  Chilo,  the  Lacedemo- 
nian, died  upon  hearing  his  son  had  gained  a  prize  in 
the  Olympic  Games.  "  Cum  victore  filio  Olympise 
expirasset  Gaudio."f 

Valerius  Maximus  tells  us  that  Sophocles,  the 
tragic  writer,  in  a  contest  of  honour,  died  in  conse- 
quence of  a  decision  being  pronounced  in  his  favour, 
44  Sophocles  ultimge  jam  senectutis,  cum  in  certamine 
trajediam  dixisset,  ancipiti  sententiarum  eventu  diu 
solicitus,  aliquando  tamen  una  sententia  victor,  cau- 
sam  mortis  gaudium  habuit.'' %  In  all  these  instances 
(says  Cogan)  the  previous  state  of  mind  was  ob- 
served to  be  that  of  extreme  anguish;  and  that  this 
must  have  contributed  to  render  the  Passion  fatal.§ 

The  heiress  of  Leibnitz,  after  rumaging  through 
the  philosopher's  papers  with  some  vexation,  died 
of  Joy  on  opening  an  old  chest  which  she  found  full 
of  money.  The  door-keeper  of  Congress,  died  of 
an  Apoplexy,  from  Joy,  upon  hearing  the  news  of 

*  Livy  Lib.  XXII.  Cap.  7. 
f  Plin.  Maj.  Lib.  VII.  sect.  7.  \  Val.  Max.  Lib.  IX.  Cap.  12, 

€  See  his  work  on  the  Passions. 


43 

the  capture  of  Lord  Cornwallis  and  his  army,  dur 
ing  our  revolutionary  war. 

Cardan  (in  his  5th  book  of  Wisdom)  gives  an  in- 
stance of  a  fellow  citizen  of  his,  a  smith  of  Milan, 
who,  on  being  commended  for  repairing  an  instru- 
ment that  was  said  to  have  belonged  to  Archimedes, 
ran  mad  for  Joy.  Plutarch  (in  the  life  of  Artax- 
erxes)  speaks  of  a  soldier  who  was  so  elated  at  the 
thought  of  having  wounded  Cyrus  in  battle,  that  he 
lost  his  wits. 

Joy,  accompanied  by  Mirth  or  Laughter,  (see 
Table  II.,)  is  said  to  have,  sometimes,  caused  death, 
as  in  the  philosopher  Chrysippus,  and  a  certain 
Pope. 

"  How  Joy  (says  Prof.  M'Neven,  in  the  Lecture 
already  alluded  to)  can  produce  such  violent  effects, 
is  a  physiological  question  which  I  am  not  called 
upon  to  discuss ;  I  am,  however,  disposed  to  think  it 
is  by  causing  a  paralysis  of  the  sensorium." 

Diseases  induced  by  this  Passion  are  Hysteria,* 
Epilepsy^  Catalepsy  and  Paralysis 4  "  It  has  also 
increased  the  paroxysms  of  acute  Fevers,  aggravated 
inflammatory  symptoms,  and,  in  plethoric  habits, 
has  been  productive   of  apoplexies, ."§      Excessive 

*  "  MS.  Notes  of  Hosack's  Lectures." 

f  Van  Swieten,  Boerhaave. 

}  Cogan  on  the  "Passions."  §  Ibids  .„ 


44 

Joy  has  brought  on  Fever.  Leo  the  Tenth  died  of 
a  Fever,  occasioned  by  receiving  the  joyful  news  of 
the  capture  of  Milan.#  It  has  sometimes,  on  the 
other  hand,  even  removed  existing  diseases.  Thus, 
Melancholy ,t  Aphonia,  Jaundice  and  Palsy  ,J  Ter- 
tian Fever,§  and  Stricture  of  the  Pylorus, ||  have 
all  been  cured  by  Joy.  Dr.  M'Neven  had  a  pa- 
tient sinking  in  Typhus,  who,  on  being  animated  by 
the  sight  of  his  intended,  and  the  hope  of  speedy 
nuptials,  experienced  a  salutary  turn  in  his  disease, 
and  soon  recovered. 

LOVE. 

I  speak  now  of  the  Love  of  the  Sexes.  When 
successful,  it  is  a  continued  form  of  Joy,  (see  Table 
II.,)  and  its  operation  is  truly  exhilarating.  No 
sensations  indeed  are  more  delightful  than  those  of 
Love ;  and,  as  such,  they  cannot  but  help  to  shield 
us  from  disease. 


Love  refines 


The  thoughts,  and  heart  enlarges ;  hath  his  seat 
In  Reason,  and  is  judicious** 


*  Istoria  de  Guicciardini,  Lib.  XIV. 
T  Trallien.  J  Pechlin,  M'Neven. 

§  Conrineus.  ||  Lorry  de  Melancholia 

m  Paradise  Lost,  B.  VIII. 


Nor  does  it 

Live  alone  immured  in  the  brain  ; 
But  with  the  motion  of  all  elements, 
Courses  as  swift  as  thought  in  every  power; 
And  gives  to  every  power  a  double  power, 
Above  their  functions  and  their  offices.* 

4;  Thus  has  it  fortified  the  body  against  dangers, 
difficulties,  and  hardships,  which  appeared  superior 
to  human  force."f 

That  modification  of  Attraction  which  we  have 
denominated  Love  of  the  Creator,  (see  Table  I.,)  it 
would  seem,  is  on  certain  occasions  also  possessed 
of  an  analogous  power.  Thus,  Dr.  Clarke  men- 
tions, in  his  "  Travels  to  the  Holy  Land,"  that  "the 
predestinarian  Moslems,  armed  with  a  powerful 
faith  that  nothing  can  accelerate  or  retard  the  fixed 
decrees  of  Providence,  pass  unhurt  through  the 
midst  of  Contagion."  The  same  learned  traveller 
also  mentions,  that  he  "  knew  a  Mahometan  of  high 
rank,  who,  when  his  wife  was  attacked  by  the 
plague,  attended  her  with  impunity  until  she  died — 
and  in  the  hour  of  death,  imprinted  a  parting  kiss 
upon  her  lips  as  he  wept  over  her."  But  here  the 
antidote  diffused  through  the  system  was  imparted 
by  Faith  and  Sexual  Love  conjointly.     Love  is  well 

*  Love's  Labour's  Lost,  [Act  IV.] 
f  Cogan  on  the  "  Passions." 


46 

known  to  be  a  valuable  remedy  in  Chlorosis.  It 
has  also  proved  a  remedy  even  in  Consumption  : 
Tissot  knew  a  young  man  in  the  last  stage  of  Con- 
sumption, who,  happening  to  fall  in  love  with  a  beau- 
tiful woman,  and  meeting  with  a  corresponding 
attachment,  was  perfectly  restored  to  health.  To 
give  an  idea  of  the  opinion  which  the  ancients  en- 
tertained of  the  salutary  influence  of  Love ; — Hippo- 
crates mentions,  that  "  Eunuchi  non  laborant  poda- 
gra, neque  calvi  fiunt,"  and  that  "  Puer  non  laborat 
podagra,  ante  veneris  usum."# 

Love  seems  to  be  the  mental  expression  of  one  of 
our  strongest  appetites,  or  at  least  so  intimately  de«? 
pendent  upon  it,  that  it  cannot  exist  without  it. 

It  was  indeed  for  the  evolution  of  this  Passion 
that  the  great  division  of  the  Sexes  was  established 
with  all  those  endearing  sympathies  which  render 
life  so  agreeable.  Were  it  not  for  the  existence  of 
this  Passion,  the  world  would  become  a  cold  and 
dreary  wild,  void  of  every  thing  emulous  or  noble. 
Not  to  speak  of  the  destitution  of  other  manly  quali- 
ties, the  Warrior  would  lose  his  most  powerful  incen- 
tive to  battle ;  and  the  Poet,  deprived  of  the  beamr 


*"Euv5xoi  a  jro&ryjiwc-iv,  n5t  <pa\fixfoi  7ivoviai.'*     Atpoj.  28.  TfAnjia  Exto>v 
liars  e  ?ro5a7£ia  ttjo  ts  cKpfcfSio-iciyjiou.1'     A<po? .  30  Tixr^xa  Ewov. 


47 

ing  star  of  some  directing  fair  one,  pine  into  sense- 
less indifference. 

Well  did  Antiquity  a  God  thee  deeme  i* 

It  may  be  remarked  here,  that  wherever  Love  is 
said  by  its  intensity  to  have  suddenly  induced  disease, 
or  removed  or  mitigated  existing  disease,  it  is  to  be 
wholly  attributed  to  the  operation  of  the  Passion 
Joy,  which,  as  I  have  before  said,  is  to  be  considered 
as  the  consummation  of  this  as  well  as  of  every  other 
species  of  Attraction.  This  is  to  be  borne  in  mind, 
when  we  hear  of  its  suddenly  curing  Intermittents, 
Typhus  Fever,  &c. ;  exciting  Inflammatory  Dis- 
eases, &c. 

To  corroborate  this  explanation,  mark  the  effects 
of  Love  arrived  at  this  acme,  as  described  by  Sap- 
pho, (see  p.  17.  Part  I.) 

When  slighted  or  unsuccessful,  Love  degenerates 
successively  into  Melancholy  or  Despondency.  In 
this  state  of  mind,  nothing  can  exceed  the  idolatry 
and  infatuation  of  its  votary.  So  fixed  are  his 
thoughts  upon  his  Laura,  that  unirritated  by  con- 
tumely or  reproaches,  he  pursues  her  at  every  risk, 
and  follows  her  into  every  recess.  She  is  the  mirror 
of  his  wretchedness  by  day,  and  the  delusive  enchan- 

*  Fairy  Queen, 


48 

tress  of  his  midnight  slumbers.  The  victim  to  the 
most  enthusiastic  reveries,  all  beside  this  imaginary 
phantom  seems  clouded  in  the  mist  of  insipidity,  and 
destitute  of  every  charm  and  every  pleasure  : 


The  darken'd  sun 


Loses  his  light :  The  rosy  bosom'd  Spring" 

To  weeping1  Fancy  pines  ;  and  yon  bright  arch. 

Contracted,  bends  into  a  dusky  vault : 

All  nature  fades  extinct ;  she  alone 

Heard,  felt,  and  seen,  possesses  every  thought, 

Fills  every  sense,  and  pants  in  every  vein.* 

He  banishes  himself  from  society — gropes  along 
the  dark  and  winding  mazes  of  Melancholy — till 
impious  Suicide  at  length  caps  the  climax  of  his 
miseries.  At  other  times  the  reward  of  his  ill-fated 
devotion,  is  that  most  terrible  of  all  diseases,  that 
chaos  of  the  mind — Mania.  This  is  the  peculiar 
and,  dreadful  to  relate,  not  unfrequent  termination  of 
Disappointed  Love. 


*  "  Thomson's  Seasons."  It  is  not  astonishing  that  under  such  a 
state  of  mind  we  should  meet  with  variations  of  the  Pulse  as  well  as 
other  marks  of  debility.  Hence  we  hear,  that  by  the  peculiar  beat 
and  change  of  the  pulse,  Hippocrates  discovered  the  love  of  Perdicas 
for  Phila,  one  of  the  wives  of  his  father ;  and  that  Erisistratus  detect- 
ed, in  the  same  way,  the  passion  of  Antiochus  for  Stratonicej  his  step- 
mother.   (See  Plutarch,  &c.) 


49 

Other  diseases  in  its  train,  are  those  of  the  De- 
pressing Passions  in  general ;  for  it  has  now  assu- 
med the  garb  and  dress  of  one  of  the  most  deleteri- 
ous of  that  class,  (viz.  Grief,  quod  vide  infra.) 
Hence,  Hysteria,  Diseases  of  the  Stomach,  Phthisis^ 
Marasmus,*  &c.  Hawioptysis,  and  Phthisis,  are  also 
aggravated  by  it. 

The  ravages  of  Disappointed  Love  upon  the 
constitution,  are  well  described  in  the  unadorned 
language  of  Chaucer  : 

tyi&  -steep,  tjis  meat,  %i$  Brink  is  ijim  toft, 
^Ijat  lean  ije  taetf)  ann  nrg  a$  a  $aft, 
fyte  ege#  fcollofo  ana  grifip  to  beijolD, 
tyi$  Ijue  pale  ana  a$en  to  unfolu, 
Sino  fifolitarg  fje  frag  efoer  alone, 
gnn  foafcing  all  tfje  nigljt,  making  moa««f 


forgotten  quite 


All  former  scenes  of  dear  delight, 
Connubial  love — parental  joy — 
No  sympathies  like  these  his  soul  employ  ; 
But  all  is  dark  within.^ 

There  is  another  species  of  Love  or  Attraction,§ 
which,  from  its  singularly  morbific  operation  on  cer- 
tain occasions,  deserves  our  notice.     This  is  Love  of 

*  "  MS.  Notes  of  Hosack's  Lectures." 

$  "  Knight's  Tale."  J  Penrose.  §  See  Table  L 


50 

Country.  Under  due  regulation,  it  is  the  very  ce- 
ment of  Society.  Existing  in  a  greater  degree,  it  is 
called  Patriotism,  but  sometimes,  though  seldom,  it 
is  so  intense  as  to  produce  disease.  This  disease  is 
termed  Nostalgia. 

But,  like  Love  of  the  Sexes,  before  it  proves 
so  detrimental  as  this,  it  rather  has  assumed  the 
sjmpe  of  Grief  or  Despondency. 

An  indulgence  in  so  glorious  a  Passion  as  the 
Love  of  one's  Country,  though  sometimes  attended 
with  solemn  consequences,  the  sympathy  of  every 
generous  Mind  will  know  how  to  pardon.  Though 
the  devoted  Patriot  should  even  breathe  his  last  on 
the  altar  of  Suicide,  "  the  Accusing  Angel  bearing 
to  Heaven's  Chancery  a  deed  in  so  hallowed  a 
cause,  would  shed  a  tear  on  the  crime  and  blot  it  out 
forever."* 

2d.  THE  DEPRESSING  PASSIONS. 

The  next  class  of  Passions  which  I  have  propo- 
sed to  consider,  are  those  which  depress  the  powers 
of  the  system.  They  are  Grief  and  Fear,  and  their 
different  varieties,  by  whatever  term  they  may  be 
distinguished.  Like  those  which  exhilarate  their 
effects,  are  either  transient  or  durable,  according  to, 

*  Sterne. 


51 

the  nature  and  duration  of  the  object  which  calls 
them  into  action.  Their  sudden  exertion,  however, 
is  not  usually  so  powerfully  depressing  as  that  of 
the  others  is  exciting.  Consequently,  their  imme- 
diate effects  are  not  so  much  to  be  deprecated. 

Whatever  evils  are  to  be  attributed  to  this  class  of 
Passions  as  their  source,  for  the  most  part  arise  from 
long-continued  action,  settled  into  a  fixed  habit. 

The  Depressing  Passions  differ  from  those  of  the 
last  class,  in  one  important  circumstance :  viz.  that 
their  operation  is  more  rarely,  or  never,  salutary. 
Besides,  the  diseases  which  they  induce  are  totally 
distinct,  nay,  even  of  an  opposite  character.  While 
the  Exhilarating  Passions  furnish  too  much  excitement, 
and  too  much  life,  the  Depressing,  with  a  contrary 
tendency,  always  diminish  their  quantum. 

The  Depressing  Passions  lessen  the  force  and 
frequency  of  the  Heart  and  Arteries,  paralysing 
the  smaller,  and,  consequently,  crowding  the  blood 
upon  the  larger  vessels.  They  also  powerfully  de- 
bilitate the  Nervous  System.  All  the  Functions 
both  of  Body  and  Mind,  are  thus  retarded  below 
the  standard  of  Health.  Obstructions  in  various 
parts  of  the  system  are  the  inevitable  consequence ; 
Constipation,  Hemorrhage,  Diseases  of  the  Heart, 
&c.  The  greater  number  of  Nervous  Diseases,  also, 
follow  in  the  train  of  the  Depressing  Passions, 


52 


GRIEF. 


Grief  is  the  opposite  of  Joy ;  it  has  a  particular  iiv 
fluence  on  the  Heart  and  Arteries,  and  the  various  Se- 
cretions. Hence,  the  Bile  is  changed.  "  Hippocrates, 
Galen,  Boerhaave,  &c„  observed  this,  but  they  erro- 
neously ascribed  the  affection  of  the  mind  to  this 
change,  whereas  it  is  the  contrary."*     It  assumes 
the  milder  form  of  Melancholy  in  the  Temperament 
which  bears  that  name,  and  which  it  characterizes. 
In  such  Temperaments  the  attending  depression  is 
the  result  of  original  conformation,  in  other  habits 
it  is  accidental,  and  arises  from  some  external  cause. 
Grief,  generally,  is    of  considerable   duration,  and 
most  violent  in  its  commencement.     Time  gradually 
wears  away  the  disagreeable  impression,  or   some 
afflicting  disease  is  induced,  which,  adding  to  the  ex- 
isting miseries  of  the  patient,  strews  his  dying  path 
with  thorns.     The  effect  of  a  sudden  fit  of  grief 
upon  the  system,  must,  like  the  action  of  the  exhila- 
rating Passions,  increase  the  velocity  of  the  circula- 
tion ;  but  not  as  they  do  its  impetus.     The  condition 
of  the  sanguiferous  vessels,  under  such  momentary 
distress,  is  generally  that  of  a  state  of  irritability 
rather  than  of  fulness.     Like  the  first  stage  of  Ty- 

*  Crichtonon  "  Mental  Derangement,"  vol.  ii.  p.  191—2, 


53 

phus,  it  is  dependent  upon,  and  merely  symptomatic 
of,  the  previous  debility  and  depression  of  the  ner- 
vous system.#     Hence,  the  diseases  are  more  usually 
traceable  to   a  derangement  of  the  nerves,  than  to 
the  faulty  action  of  the    blood  vessels.     In    some 
habits,  however,  not  only  the  rapidity,  but  the  im- 
pulse, also,  of  the  circulation  becomes  increased. 
And  hence,  merely  by  this  violent  impulse,  we  see 
this  Passion  sometimes  the  source  of  Apoplexy,  Hae- 
moptysis, Active  Hcemorrhage,  in  general,  Synochal 
Fever,  Convulsions,  and   even  Death ;  analogous  in 
its    effects    to  Anger.      But  this   casual  action  of 
Grief  is  not  to  be  mistaken  for  its  characteristic  ope- 
ration.    Its  primary  and  distinctive  effect  is  discover- 
able in  the   Nervous   System.     And  what  adds  to 
the  truth  of  this  position,  is  the  particular  class  of 
beings  in  whom  this  Passion  is  most  prevalent.   For 
it  must  be   remembered  that  Grief  is  the  bane  of 
nervous  and  delicate  habits.f 

It  is  from  gradually  wasting  away  the  powers  of 
the  system,  by  long-continued  Despondency,  and  not 
by  any  sudden  or  violent  shock,  that  this  Passion 
generally  induces  disease. 

*  See  Hosack's  Observations  on  the  Typhoid  state  of  Fever,  in 
the  Appendix  to  his  edition  of  Thomas's  Practice. 

■f  "  Grief  is  a  Passion  to  which  the  virtuous  and  tender  mind  is 
particularly  subject." — Dr.  Johnson. 


54 


Grief  breaks  the  seasons  and  reposing1  hours, 
Makes  the  night  morning-,  and  the  noontide  night.* 

"  The  mournful  ideas,  first  violently  impressed, 
and  afterwards  willingly  received,  so  much  engross 
the  attention,  as  to  predominate  in  every  thought,  to 
darken  gaiety,  and  perplex  ratiocination.  An 
habitual  sadness  seizes  upon  the  soul,  and  the  facul- 
ties are  chained  to  a  single  object,  which  can  never 
be  contemplated  but  with  hopeless   uneasiness."t 

A  general  torpor  shows  itself  in  the  sanguiferous 
system.  Obstructions  in  the  Liver,  and  other  dis- 
eases follow.  "  The  mino^  being  affected,  the  sto- 
mach and  adjacent  organs  must  also  be  affected,  and 
the  mind  again  operated  upon  by  them.'°f  Hence, 
Dyspepsia,  Dropsy,  Jaundice,  and  Hypochondriasis.^ 
Palsy  and  Aphonia  are  also  among  its  consequences.|j 
So  also  are  Syncope,  Asphyxia,  Epilepsy,  Catalepsy, 
Phthisis,  Apoplexy,  Haemoptysis,  Loss  of  Memory, 
Mania,%.  and  even  Death***    The  Emperor  Severus 

*  "  Richard  III."  Act  I.—"  Omnis  perturbatio  miseria  ;  et  carnifi- 
cina  est  Dolor. "— (Tully.) 

|  Dr.  Johnson. 

|  "MS.  Notes  of  Hosack's  Lectures." 

§  See  Bonetus,  Trallien,  Lorry,  Bag-livi,  Hoffman,  and  Crichton. 

||  Ibid.  %  "  MS.  Notes  of  Hosack's  Lectures." 

**  "Worldly  sorrow  causeth Death." — (2  Cor.  yii.  10.— -Psalm 
xxxi.  10.) 


55 

died  of  Grief,  and  how  many  myriads  besides !  (says 
Burton.)  Grief  is  sometimes  followed,  also,  by 
Diseases  of  the  Heart,  as  in  the  French  Revolution.* 

"  Cor  refrigerat  Tristitia,  spiritus  exsiccat,  inna- 
tumque  calorem  obruit,  vigillas  inducit,  concoctionem 
labefactat,  sanguinem  incrassat,  exaggeratque  me- 
lancholicum  succum."t 

In  the  case  of  an  unfortunate  female  of  this  city, 
whom  Professor  Mott,  of  this  University,  mentions 
in  his  Lectures,^  though  her  death  was  sudden,  she 
had  been  for  some  time  excessively  desponding. 
On  that  fatal  evening  which  closed  her  existence, 
her  feelings  were  wound  up  to  the  highest  pitch  of 
Despair;  her  spirits  sunk  under  the  oppressive 
load  \  her  blood  curdled  in  its  vessels,  and  the  last 
contractile  beat  of  the  heart  burst  on  its  lifeless  con- 
tents !  She  literally  and  truly  died  of  a  broken 
heart,  as  was  found  on  dissection.  And  there  was 
every  reason  to  believe  that  this  consummation  of 
her  misery  was  the  unavoidable  consequence  of  her 
exquisite  dejection  of  Mind  at  that  particular  mo- 
ment. Her  previous  sorrows  paved  the  way  for 
this  sad  event,  and,  though  the  remote,  were  indeed 
the  true  cause  of  her  death.     The  bursting  of  her 

*  Vid.  infra. 

\  Fernelius,  lib.  i.  c.  18.  de  morb.  causis. 

\  See   the  particulars  of  this  case  in  the  "  New-York  Medical 
?vlagazine,"  No.  II.  edited  by  Drs.  Mott  and  Onderdonk. 


56 

heart  would  seem  to  denote  some  sudden  and  vio- 
lent action  in  that  organ ;  but  the  undisturbed  and 
natural  posture  in  which  she  was  found  in  her  bed, 
clearly  demonstrate  the  error  of  such  an  opinion. 
We  have  the  strongest  grounds,  therefore,  to  con- 
elude,  that  this  rupture  of  her  heart  was  the  imme- 
diate effect  of  the  great  accumulation  of  blood  in 
that  organ,  caused  by  the  depressing  influence  of 
the  Passion.* 

There  is  a  very  singular  symptom  or  effect  of 
Grief,  which,  as  it  is  not  often  noticed,  deserves  to 
be  mentioned,  and  that  is  Profound  Sleep.  "  I  have 
often  witnessed  it  (says  Dr.  Rush)  even  in  mothers, 
immediately  after  the  death  of  a  child."  Criminals, 
we  are  told  by  Mr.  Akerman,  the  keeper  of  New- 
gate, in  London,  often  sleep  soundly  the  night  be- 
fore their  execution.  The  son  of  General  Custine 
slept  nine  hours  the  night  before  he  was  led  to  the 
guillotine  in  Paris,  and  Marshal  Ney  reposed  quietly 
for  two  hours  immediately  on  receiving  his  sentence.f 

*  Dr.  Rush,  in  his  work  on  the  "  Diseases  of  the  Mind,"  mentions, 
that  dissections  of  persons  who  have  died  of  grief  show  also  that 
there  had  been  inflammation  of  the  heart,  as  well  as  congestion  of 
this  organ. 

■j-  It  can  hardly  be  supposed  that  one  who  met  death  with  that  un- 
paralleled heroism  which  is  related  of  Ney,  could  at  any  time  have 
given  himself  up  to  puerile  lamentations.  But  it  is  extremely  pro- 
bable, that  the  thought  of  so  soon  resigning  "this  pleasing,  anxious 
being,"  must,  at  least,  have  overshadowed  his  mind  with  a  degree  ei 
gloom. 


57 

Dr.  Rush  thinks  that  facts  like  these  "  will  serve  to 
vindicate  the  disciples  of  our  Saviour  from  a  want 
of  sympathy  with  him  in  his  suffering."  They 
slept  during  his  agony  in  the  garden,  because  their 
"  flesh  was  weak,"  and  in  consequence  of  "  sorrow 
having  filled  their  hearts."  (P.  319.  on  the  "  Dis- 
eases of  the  Mind.") 

Grief  also  predisposes  to  Contagion.* 

FEAR. 

Fear  is  distinguished  from  other  Passions  by  this 
peculiarity,  that  its  effects  are  alike  powerful  upon 
the  system  whether  it  result  from  the  actual  percep- 
tion of  terrible  objects,  or  whether  it  be  harrowed 
up  by  some  horrible  phantom  of  the  imagination. 
The  Power  of  the  imagination,  in  fact,  though  it  is 
generally  treated  as  some  separate  influence,  induces 
physical  derangement  only  through  the  medium  of 
the  Passions,  and  most  of  all  through  the  operation 
of  Fear.f 

In  either  case,  when  fully  excited,  this  Passion 
seems  to  have  a  peculiar  operation  upon  the  Ner- 
vous  Influence.     It   strikes  at   the   root  of  some  of 

*  Cogan. 

f  This  is  confirmed  by  Burton.  "  But  most  especially  in  passions 
and  affections,  the  imagination  shows  strange  and  evident  effects." 
Vol.  i.  p.  135. 

8 


58 

the  noblest  faculties  of  the  Mind ;  depriving  us  of 
the  power  of  Volition,  and  totally  suspending  our 
Judgment  and  Memory*  The  Perception,  too,  it  per- 
verts, and  the  affrighted  sufferer,  as  in  a  dream, 
imagines  that  he  beholds  the  most  terrific  spectres  ! 

1  Stat  terror  animis,  et  cor  attonitum  salit, 
Pavidumque  trepidis  palpitat  venis  jecur.f 

Some  of  the  involuntary  muscles,  also,  no  longer 
obey  the  direction  of  their  nerves.  Thus,  even  the 
gallant  soldier,  "  seeking  the  cannon's  mouth,"  has 
often  been  checked  in  his  noble  career  by  the  sud- 
den relaxation  of  his  sphincters.  "  This  is  not  to  be 
ascribed  to  cowardice,  for  many  of  these  engage 
voluntarily ;  but  the  mind  naturally  recoils  upon  it- 
self at  the  thoughts  of  dissolution,  and  the  stoutest 
hearts  become  appalled."{  Death  itself  not  unfre- 
quently  results  from  the  violence  of  this  Passion; 
as  in  the  following  cases  :  "  The  elder  Cline  visited 
a  young  lady  for  tumour  in  the  breast,  and  recom- 
mended extirpation.  She  freely  consented  to  the 
operation,  but  assured  her  friends  it  would  kill  her. 
The  operation  being  trifling,  it  was  urged  by  the 
Surgeons,  and  the    young    lady  reproved   by   her 

*  t&ctoi  r/aJ  jirivjinv  im\r)CCti,  tixvti  5\  aviv  &kxris  sSiv  u$i\i".        ThllCyd.   lib, 

ii.  c.  81. — Metus  enim  memoriam  excutit,  ars  vero  sine  fortitudine 
nihil  prodest. 

f  Senec.  "  Here.  Oet." 

t  "  MS.  Notes  of  Hosack's  Lectures." 


59 

parents  for  her  timidity.  She,  however,  still  insisted 
that  it  would  prove  fatal,  and,  indeed,  did  die  an 
hour  or  two  after  it  was  performed.  So  confident 
was  she  of  her  death,  that  she  had  arranged  all  her 
private  affairs  some  time  before  it."# 

"  I  have  known  a  man  to  be  so  much  affected  at 
the  idea  of  losing  a  leg,  as  to  die  in  less  than  twenty- 
four  hours  after  the  operation  was  proposed."f 

The  celebrated  Pott  sounded  a  man  for  a  Stone 
in  the  Bladder,  and  found  it  The  patient  was  so 
much  agitated  at  the  thought  of  a  stone  in  the  blad- 
der, and  that  an  operation  was  necessary  to  remove 
it,  that  he  died  the  same  day. 

Diseases  resulting  from  the  influence  of  this  Pas- 
sion, are  Sadden  Suppression  of  the  Menses,  or  Milk, 
Apoplexy,  Hemorrhage,  Mental  Derangement, 
Spasms,  and  Paralysis  of  different  parts,  as  Apho- 
nia, &c.J  At  other  times  it  produces  Hysteria,  Mis-. 
carriage,  Prolapsus  Ani  in  children  ;§  Syncope  and 
Asphyxia.^ 

*  Politely  furnished  the  author  by  Valentine  Mott,  M.  D.  Profes- 
sor of  Surgery  in  the  University  of  New-York,  &c. 

f  Ibid. 

\  See  Unzer,  Ronetus,  Pechlin,  Donatus,  Scaliger,  Plater,  Schen- 
kius,  Hildanus,  Tralles,  Schelhammer,  Becker,  Baglivi,  Morton,  La 
Motte,  Rivin  de  Peste,  Haller,  Montaigne,  Rhodes,  Greding, 
&c.  &c.  &c. 

§  "  MS.  Notes  of  Hosack's  Lectures." 

II  Rush  on  the  "  Diseases  of  the  Mind," 


60 

Mania  was  caused  in  a  gentleman  of  Edinburgh 
on  hearing  of  the  earthquake  at  Lisbon.^  Van 
Swieten  tells  of  a  boy  who  had  Epilepsy  brought  on 
by  the  barking  of  a  dog.  "  The  cry  of  a  female  in 
the  Infirmary  of  Edinburgh,  I  have  seen  cause  con- 
vulsions in  those  who  heard  her  shrieks."t 

Fear  has  ever  been  observed  to  powerfully  pre- 
dispose to  Contagious  Diseases;  as  Yellow  Fever ^ 
Plague^  &c.  It  predisposes  to  Intermittents  also. 
It  retards  the  cure  of  Ulcers,  and  has  occasioned 
Gangrene.^  "  But  pernicious  as  it  usually  is,  it 
has  been  known  (says  Cogan)  to  relieve  agonizing 
fits  of  the  Gout,  to  have  rendered  Maniacs  calm 
and  composed,  and  in  some  cases  it  has  restored 
them  to  the  regular  use  of  their  faculties."  The 
effects  of  Fear  in  affording  temporary  relief  in 
Odontalgia  and  Singultus,  are  well  known.  It  is 
said,  also,  by  some,  to  have  cured  Palsy,  Dropsy, 

*  "  MS.  Notes  of  Hosack's  Lectures."  See  also  Burton's  Me- 
lancholy, vol.  i.  p.  143.,  &c. 

f  "  MS.  Notes  of  Hosack's  Lectures." 

I  "  The  Greeks  and  Franks,  who  turn  pale  at  the  very  name  of  the 
Plague,  are  much  more  susceptible  of  this  disease  than  the  Armeni- 
ans, who  have  very  little  dread  of  it,  and  the  Turks,  who  calmly  take 
it  as  it  comes."  (Sulla  Peste  di  Constantinopoli,  del  MDCCCIII. 
Giornaledel  Dottore  Eusebio  Valli,  1805,  p.  81.)  The  distinguished 
author  of  this  excellent  work  is  now  on  a  literary  tour  to  this  coun 
try. 

§  See  Brambilla, 


61 

Epilepsy,  and  Tertian  Fever.  But,  though  these 
eases  be  doubtful,  I  believe  we  may  assert,  with 
truth,  that  sudden  Terror  has  sometimes  so  ex- 
cited the  apprehensions  of  hypochondriacs,  as  to 
have  obliterated  ail  their  former  maladies.*  How 
the  operation  of  Fear  sometimes  produces  a  sud- 
den whiteness  of  the  hair,  or  causes  it  to  come  out 
by  the  roots,  has  not  been  explained.f 

From  what  we  have  said  of  Fear,  it  is  evident 
that  its  most  striking  operation  on  the  system, 
though  transitory  in  duration,  if  it  be  too  often  sus- 
tained, or  of  great  intensity,  may  be  the  source  of 
the  worst  of  evils.  When  endured  in  a  more  mo- 
derate degree,  its  effects  are  but  in  a  slight  degree 
depressing,  and  it  then  better  deserves  the  appella- 
tion of  Dread.  In  a  moral  point  of  view,  this  degree 
of  Fear  is  of  great  importance.  "  The  dread  of  the 
magistrate,  and  the  fear  of  future  punishment,  with 
those  who  cannot  be  restrained  by  nobler  principles, 
are  certainly  most  powerful  motives  to  virtue  ;"J 
and  as  such  ought,  undoubtedly,  to  be  kept  alive  in 
every  community. 

But  that  modification  of  Fear,  combined  with 
Grief,  which  arises  from  the  Fear  of  Futurity,  and 
which  is  so  beneficial  under  proper  restrictions,  has 

*  See  Cog-an.  f  See  Borelli. 

|  Reid  on  the  "  Mind." 


62 

been,  alas  !  too  often  prostituted  to  the  vilest  pur- 
poses. In  the  hands  of  fanaticism  and  hypocrisy, 
by  inculcating  the  most  frightful  despair,  it  has 
caused  the  untimely  de^ath  of  thousands  of  innocent 
beings. 


63 


PART  III. 

Hitherto  we  have  endeavoured  to  point  out  the 
force  of  each  individual  Passion,  in  as  far  as  that 
force  tended  to  the  production  or  modification  of 
Disease.  This  has  been  considered  abstractedly, 
and  as  if  the  Passion,  such  as  it  was  implanted  in 
us  by  nature,  had  been  directed  in  every  instance, 
solely  and  uninterruptedly  to  the  accomplishment  of 
those  changes.  But  this  is  taking  too  analytical  a 
view  of  the  subject.  The  power  of  the  Passions 
may  be  compared  to  that  of  Affinity ;  it  never  acts 
without  receiving  some  modification  in  its  capacity 
from  a  variety  of  extraneous  Agencies:  such  are 
Education  and  Climate.  Of  these,  Climate  is  ever 
present,  and,  therefore,  always  energetic;  but  its 
influence  is  not  very  great,  else  why  should  we  find 
nations,  living  under  precisely  the  same  climate,  dif- 
fering so  widely  in  their  moral  character. 

Education  may  be  considered  as  fortuitous,  though, 
possessing,  more  than  all  other  causes,  infinite 
power  in  moulding  the  Passions.  So  great  is  this, 
indeed,  that  it  is  the   origin  of  that  great  chasm  in 


64 

society,  between  Refinement  and  Barbarity.  Un- 
der Education  I  include  the  operation  of  Govern- 
ment, whether  man  be  the  nursling  of  Republican- 
ism or  Monarchy. 

Unless,  however,  the  human  mind  be  subjected 
to  the  iron  hand  of  Despotism,  the  Government  of 
a  People  cannot  be  said  to  have  any  distinctly  mor- 
bific influence  upon  the  Passions.  But  with  regard 
to  Despotic  Governments,  where  they  do  exist,  their 
influence  is  most  pointed.  Themselves  the  offspring 
of  diabolical  Passions,  in  their  turn,  what  Griefs! 
what  Hatreds!  what  Horrors!  have  they  not  en- 
gendered ! 

Goaded  on  by  their  cruelties  and  enormities,  the 
human  mind  has  been  wrought  up  to  the  most  ex- 
quisite pitch  of  torment,  and  taught  to  glory  in  deeds 
that  it  else  had  never  dreamt  of.  Passions  have 
been  roused,  which  hybrid-like,  had  no  natural  ex- 
istence, and  whose  nameless  miseries  have  surpassed 
the  conceptions  of  the  most  consummate  fancy. 
How  oft,  too,  have  Passions  been  thus  excited  and 
let  frantic  into  the  world  ;  which,  but  for  this  cause, 
had  for  ever  lain  dormant,  or  never  shot  beyond  their 
spheres!  Better,  far,  that  man  had  never  existed,  or 
never  been  torn  from  his  primitive  wilds,  than  that 
he  should  ever  have  been  the  creature  of  slavery! 
It   throws    a  stigma  upon  society  and   civilization 


65 

which  has  never  been  removed,  but  which  the  Ex- 
cesses and  Outrages  of  the  present  day  only  tend  to 
heighten. 

There  are  certain  Passions  which,  when  not  ex- 
cessive, always  raise  agreeable  sensations.  Such 
are  Joy,  and  its  various  modifications.  But  Anger, 
Fear,  and  Grief,  on  the  other  hand,  always  occasion 
distress.  And  such  are  the  Passions  which  Tyranny 
calls  forth  in  their  most  horrible  forms.  The 
Diseases  which  they  occasion,  must  necessarily  cor- 
respond ;  hence,  they  are  of  the  most  dangerous 
and  fatal  kind  that  accompany  those  Passions  :  as 
Rupture  of  the  Heart,  and  of  the  Large  Blood  Vessels, 
Diseases  of  the  Heart,  Apoplexy,  Epilepsy,  Hypochon- 
driasis, Syncope,  Convulsions,  &c.  We  should  not  be 
surprised  therefore  to  meet  death  at  these  outlets, 
in  all  countries  groaning  under  the  sway  of  despo- 
tism. The  same  might  be  expected  during  revolu- 
tions resulting  from  such  despotism.  Hence,  says 
Corvisart,  Diseases  of  the  Heart  were  observed  to 
be  particularly  prevalent  during  the  epoch  of  the 
French  Revolution.* 

I  do  not  know  whether  the  observation  has  been 
made  by  any  other  person,  but  it  is  probable  that 
the  history  of  almost  every  nation  would  furnish  pa- 
rallel instances. 

*  "  Organic  Diseases  of  the  Heart,"  p.  276. 

9 


66 

The  Passions  constitute  the  great  Features  in  the 
Life  of  Man — the  Outlines  of  the  Human  Character, 
They  are  the  chief  springs  to  human  action,  and  are 
of  the  utmost  importance  to  society. 

To  illustrate  this  subject  still  further,  they  may  be 
Considered  in  three  different  ways,  viz:  1st.  As  they 
appear  at  different  periods  of  life.  2dly.  As  they 
distinguish  particular  classes  of  individuals,  (or  the 
temperaments,) — and,  Lastly,  As  they  give  a  cast 
to  national  character,  i.  e.  as  they  are  modified  by- 
Education. 

The  influence  of  Age  or  Temperament  is  depend- 
ent chiefly  upon  original  conformation.  That  of 
Education,  as  has  been  already  observed,  is  alto- 
gether extraneous.  This  view  of  the  Passions  is 
only  introduced  in  order  to  show  under  what  cir~ 
cumstance9  they  and  their  effects  may  be  rationally 
anticipated. 

1st.  Youth  is  proverbially  the  period  of  Passion, 
In  the  language  of  Horace, 


Puer  iram 


Colligit  ac  ponit  temere,  et  mutatur  in  horas. 

But  if  the  season  of  Youth  be  more  strongly 
marked  by  the  predominance  of  the  Passions,  they 
are  transient  in  their  stay,  and  leave  no  violent  traces 
behind.     They  appepj*  in  quick  succession,  and  as 


67 

soon  retire.  If  not  duly  regulated,  however,  they  are 
highly  injurious,  especially  Anger,  "  which  proves 
particularly  dangerous  at  this  time,  from  impairing 
the  nervous  system."* 

The  same  remark  might  have  been  made  of  Fear ; 
which  at  this  tender  period  of  life,  often  so  breaks 
down  the  mental  faculties,  as  to  leave  behind  it  an 
incurable  imbecility  or  even  idiotism.  The  vile 
practice  of  impressing  on  the  belief  of  children  the 
existence  of  Ghosts,  Hobgoblins,  Witches,  &c.,  has 
not  unfrequently  been  the  source  of  these,  or  more 
deplorable,  calamities. 

After  the  age  of  Puberty,  Love  acts  an  important 
part  in  the  affairs  of  man,  The  ancients  considered 
it  of  so  much  importance  at  this  period  of  our  lives, 
that  they  called  it  "  a  remedy  provided  by  the  gods 
for  the  safety  and  preservation  of  youth."f  This 
corresponds  with  the  opinion  of  Theocritus  \ 

Oi  5t  nohvvns,  iv  -niicm  yr^6.ffuiaiv.t 

Though,  Mad.  De  Stael  says,  it  constitutes  the 
whole  life  of  a  woman,  and  but  an  episode  in  that  of 


*  "  MS.  Notes  of  Hosack's  Lectures." 

f  Vid.  Plato,  "  Conviv."     It  is  mentioned  by  Plutarch  from  this 
source. 
|  EiSuM.  it'.    Qui  autem  amant,  in  die  senescunt 


68 

a  man,  I  believe  as  many  of  one  sex  have  fallen  vic- 
tims to  it  as  of  the  other. 

The  Passions  now  begin  to  make  a  serious  and 
more  durable  impression,  and  Manhood  is  the  arena 
on  which  they  stride  in  all  their  majesty. 

In  old  age  again  the  mind  is  too  feeble  to  bring 
any  of  its  faculties  into  extraordinary  action ; 

— And  for  the  air  of  youth, 


Hopeful  and  cheerful,  in  the  blood  doth  reign 
A  melancholy  damp  of  cold  and  dry 
To  weigh  the  spirits  down,  and  last  consume 
The  balm  of  life.* 

2dly.  Temperaments.  In  all  the  Temperaments, 
except  the  Phlegmatic,  the  Passions  form  the  spe- 
cific lines  of  distinction.  And  even  this  Tempera- 
ment is   negatively   characterized  by   them. 

The  Sanguineous  is  the  creature  of  sudden  bursts 
of  Anger  or  Joy.  The  Choleric  is  almost  the  slave 
of  perpetual  Rage,  and  while  the  unfortunate 
victim  to  Melancholy  pines  away  his  life  in  Grief,  the 
pitiable  JVervous  is  alive  to  every  blast, 

3dly.  Education  and  National  Character.  Though 
Man  is  essentially  the  same  in  all  parts  of  the  world, 
he  derives,  as  we  have  already  said,  some  modifica- 
tion of  his  existence  from  the  fortuitous  but  powerful 

*  Milton's  Paradise  Lost. 


69 

influences  of  Climate  and  Education.  The  most  re- 
markable of  these  is  Education ;  and,  according  to  a 
sentiment  just  expressed,  the  most  intelligible  deline- 
ations of  its  power  are  more  likely  to  be  discovered 
in  the  various  combinations  of  the  Passions,  than  in 
any  other  part  of  the  Human  Character.  Hence, 
it  is  most  common  to  depict  National  Character  by  a 
representation  of  their  predominating  Passions. 
This  will  ordinarily  hold  good.  But  in  the  instance 
of  Despotic  Governments,  of  which  we  have  spoken, 
no  particular  conclusion  can  be  drawn  as  to  the  Na- 
tional Character  from  this  source.  Under  the  deep 
and  solemn  gloom  of  Tyranny,  all  is  wrapped  in 
Mystery.  And  whatever  dispositions  of  National 
Feeling  may  be  at  times  developed,  or  which  may 
afterwards  more  freely  vent  themselves  in  the  march 
of  Revolutions,  I  still  maintain  that  these  cannot  be 
taken  as  the  lineaments  of  the  native  genius  of  the 
People.  There  is  a  morbid  state  of  Society  at  such 
times,  and,  consequently,  any  deductions  from  the 
phenomena  then  exhibited  are  fallacious.  But,  un- 
der a  different  face  of  things,  the  Passions  furnish  a 
true  test  of  National  Character. 

The  wild  and  noble  ardour  of  the  Hibernian,  the 
conscious  pride  of  virtuous  freedom,  which  beams  on 
the  countenance  of  the  favoured  child  of  Columbia, 
are  familiar  to  every  one.-— While  the  inexorable  ha- 


70 


tred-of  the  Spaniard,  the  cold-blooded  ferocity  of  the 
English,  and  the  irresistible  fury  of  the  Gaul,  have 
been  the  source  of  too  many  changes  in  the  history 
of  this  world  to  be  soon  forgotten. 


FINIS. 


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